Development of a Research Plan to Minimize Thermal Conductivity in Low Temperature Thermoelectric Materials

Abstract

Minimizing thermal conductivity in thermoelectric materials is critical for the operation of infrared sensors at 10K. Various nanostructures including superlattices, ball milled nanocomposites, and rough nanowires have all shown promise for significant low-temperature thermal conductivity reduction, with rough nanowires demonstrating 4 order of magnitude reduction as compared to bulk. Here computer simulations are used to investigate two factors potentially responsible for thermal conductivity reduction: confinement effects on phonon dispersion and roughness effects on phonon transmission. Increased understanding of the mechanisms responsible for thermal conductivity reduction will potentially enable thermoelectric material nanostructures to be tuned to maximize ZT.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Dec 03, 2010
Accession Number
ADA534181

Entities

People

  • Jennifer R. Lukes

Organizations

  • University of Pennsylvania

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Advanced Electronics

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Composite Materials
  • Computational Science
  • Computer Simulations
  • Conductivity
  • Crystal Lattice Vibrations
  • Crystal Lattices
  • Crystal Structure
  • Elastic Waves
  • Low Temperature
  • Materials
  • Materials Laboratories
  • Materials Processing
  • Materials Science
  • Materials Testing
  • Molecular Dynamics
  • Nanostructures
  • Thermal Conductivity

Fields of Study

  • Materials science

Readers

  • Nanocomposite Materials Science
  • Solar Photovoltaics and Thermoelectric Devices.
  • Tribology (the study of the boundary interaction between sliding surfaces, lubrication, wear and friction).

Technology Areas

  • Microelectronics