SILICON GERMANIUM QUANTUM WELL THERMOELECTRICS

Abstract

Today'sgrowing energy demands require new technologies to provide high efficiency clean energy. Thermoelectrics that convert heat to electrical energy directly can provide a method for the automobile industry to recover waste heat to power vehicle electronics, hence improving fuel economy. If large enough efficiencies can be obtained then the internal combustion engine could even be replaced. Exhaust temperature for automotive application range from 400 to 800 K. In this temperature range the current state of the art materials are bulk Si1-xGex alloys. By alternating layers of Si and Si1-xGex alloy device performance may be enhanced through quantum well effects and variations in material thermal properties. In this study, superlattices designed for in-plane operation with varying period and crystallinity are examined to determine the effect on electrical and thermal properties. In-plane electrical resistivity of these materials was found to be below the bulk material at a similar doping at room temperature, confirming the role of quantum wells in electron transport. As period is reduced in the structures boundary scattering limits electron propagation leading to increased resistivity. The Seebeck coefficient measured at room temperature is higher than the bulk material, additionally lending proof to the effects of quantum wells. When examining cross-plane operation the low doping in the Si layers of the device produce high resistivity resulting from boundary scattering. Thermal conductivity was measured from 77 K up to 674 K and shows little variation due to periodicity and temperature, however an order of magnitude reduction over bulk Si1-xGex is shown in all samples. A model is developed that suggests a combination of phonon dispersion effects and strong boundary scattering. Further study of the phonon dispersion effects was achieved through the examination of the heat capacity by combining thermal diffusivity with thermal conductivity. All superlattices show a reduction in heat capacity when compared to Si, suggesting the importance of phonon dispersion effects due to the periodicity. The Debye model does not provide agreement with this result due to the inadequate treatment of optical phonons. Overall the results show that the design of the superlattice structures results in a thermoelectric that has improved efficiency at room temperature to the state of the art materials with the promise of increased efficiency at higher temperatures.