Three-Dimensional Modeling of Nanoscale Seebeck Measurements by Scanning Thermoelectric Microscopy

Abstract

A three-dimensional electrothermal model has been developed to investigate the spatial resolution of the scanning thermoelectric microscopy (SThEM). We found that if the electrical resistivity of the sample changes abruptly, the SThEM will measure a voltage close to the local thermoelectric voltage where electrical resistivity is relatively low, rather than a simple weighted average of the thermoelectric voltage distribution based on the temperature profile. This is due to the presence of internal currents in the sample. The spatial resolution of the Seebeck profiling is limited by the finite value of the phonon mean free path of the sample and the tip size of the microscopy. With a tip size around 1 nm, the scanning thermoelectric microscopy can achieve a spatial resolution of the physical limit defined by the statistical nature of the charge carrier and phonon behavior in a very small region.

Open PDF

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 2005
Accession Number
ADA458437

Entities

People

  • Ali Shakouria
  • C. K. Shih
  • Ho-ki Lyeo
  • Shi Li
  • Zhixi Bian

Organizations

  • University of California, Santa Cruz

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Bulk Materials
  • Charge Carriers
  • Coefficients
  • Engineering
  • Materials
  • Mean Free Path
  • Measurement
  • Metal-Semiconductor Junctions
  • Microscopy
  • P-N Junctions
  • Physics
  • Scanning
  • Semiconductor Junctions
  • Semiconductors
  • Simulations
  • Temperature Gradients
  • Three Dimensional

Fields of Study

  • Materials science

Readers

  • Solar Photovoltaics and Thermoelectric Devices.
  • Thin Film Deposition Science.