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Towards Higher Power Factor In Semiconductor Thermoelectrics: Bandstructure Engineering And Potential Barriers, Adithya Kommini

Doctoral Dissertations

To keep up with the current energy demand and to sustain the growth requires efficient use of existing resources. One of the ways to improve efficiency is by converting waste heat to electricity using thermoelectrics. Thermoelectric devices work on the principle of Seebeck effect, where an applied temperature difference across the material results in a potential difference in the material. The possibility of drastic improvements in the efficiency of thermoelectric (TE) devices using semiconductor nanostructured materials renewed interest in thermoelectrics over the last three decades. Introducing confinement, interfaces, and quantum effects using nanostructures for additional control of charge and phonon …