Phonon Transport in SiGe-Based Nanocomposites and Nanowires for Thermoelectric Applications

2015 ◽  
Vol 1735 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Upadhyaya ◽  
Z. Aksamija
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Conductivity ◽  
Silicon Germanium ◽  
Thermal Transport ◽  
Lattice Thermal Conductivity ◽  
Phonon Scattering ◽  
Voronoi Tessellation ◽  
Phonon Transport ◽  
Interface Properties ◽  
Boltzmann Transport ◽  
Rough Interfaces

ABSTRACTSilicon-germanium (SiGe) superlattices (SLs) have been proposed for application as efficient thermoelectrics because of their low thermal conductivity, below that of bulk SiGe alloys. However, the cost of growing SLs is prohibitive, so nanocomposites, made by a ball-milling and sintering, have been proposed as a cost-effective replacement with similar properties. Lattice thermal conductivity in SiGe SLs is reduced by scattering from the rough interfaces between layers. Therefore, it is expected that interface properties, such as roughness, orientation, and composition, will play a significant role in thermal transport in nanocomposites and offer many additional degrees of freedom to control the thermal conductivity in nanocomposites by tailoring grain size, shape, and crystal angle distributions. We previously demonstrated the sensitivity of the lattice thermal conductivity in SLs to the interface properties, based on solving the phonon Boltzmann transport equation under the relaxation time approximation. Here we adapt the model to a broad range of SiGe nanocomposites. We model nanocomposite structures using a Voronoi tessellation to mimic the grains and their distribution in the nanocomposite and show excellent agreement with experimentally observed structures, while for nanowires we use the Monte Carlo method to solve the phonon Boltzmann equation. In order to accurately treat phonon scattering from a series of atomically rough interfaces between the grains in the nanocomposite and at the boundaries of nanowires, we employ a momentum-dependent specularity parameter. Our results show thermal transport in SiGe nanocomposites and nanowires is reduced significantly below their bulk alloy counterparts.

A High Thermoelectric Performance ZT in p-Type LaSe2 Crystal

2021 ◽  
Vol 871 ◽  
pp. 203-207
Author(s):  
Jian Liu
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Conductivity ◽  
Power Factor ◽  
High Power ◽  
Density Functional ◽  
Lattice Thermal Conductivity ◽  
Phonon Transport ◽  
Thermoelectric Performance ◽  
Boltzmann Transport ◽  
High Power Factor ◽  
P Type

In this work, we use first principles DFT calculations, anharmonic phonon scatter theory and Boltzmann transport method, to predict a comprehensive study on the thermoelectric properties as electronic and phonon transport of layered LaSe2 crystal. The flat-and-dispersive type band structure of LaSe2 crystal offers a high power factor. In the other hand, low lattice thermal conductivity is revealed in LaSe2 semiconductor, combined with its high power factor, the LaSe2 crystal is considered a promising thermoelectric material. It is demonstrated that p-type LaSe2 could be optimized to exhibit outstanding thermoelectric performance with a maximum ZT value of 1.41 at 1100K. Explored by density functional theory calculations, the high ZT value is due to its high Seebeck coefficient S, high electrical conductivity, and low lattice thermal conductivity .

scholarly journals Reduction of Lattice Thermal Conductivity in PbTe Induced by Artificially Generated Pores

2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jae-Yeol Hwang ◽  
Eun Sung Kim ◽  
Syed Waqar Hasan ◽  
Soon-Mok Choi ◽  
Kyu Hyoung Lee ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Conductivity ◽  
Pore Structure ◽  
Transport Properties ◽  
Thermoelectric Materials ◽  
Thermal Transport ◽  
Lattice Thermal Conductivity ◽  
Phonon Scattering ◽  
Phonon Modes ◽  
Thermal Transport Properties

Highly dense pore structure was generated by simple sequential routes using NaCl and PVA as porogens in conventional PbTe thermoelectric materials, and the effect of pores on thermal transport properties was investigated. Compared with the pristine PbTe, the lattice thermal conductivity values of pore-generated PbTe polycrystalline bulks were significantly reduced due to the enhanced phonon scattering by mismatched phonon modes in the presence of pores (200 nm–2 μm) in the PbTe matrix. We obtained extremely low lattice thermal conductivity (~0.56 W m−1 K−1at 773 K) in pore-embedded PbTe bulk after sonication for the elimination of NaCl residue.

scholarly journals Thermal transport in nanocrystalline Si and SiGe by ab initio based Monte Carlo simulation

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lina Yang ◽  
Austin J. Minnich
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Conductivity ◽  
Monte Carlo ◽  
Ab Initio ◽  
Grain Boundaries ◽  
Thermal Transport ◽  
Phonon Scattering ◽  
Phonon Dispersion ◽  
Computational Study ◽  
Phonon Transport ◽  
Nanocrystalline Si

Abstract Nanocrystalline thermoelectric materials based on Si have long been of interest because Si is earth-abundant, inexpensive, and non-toxic. However, a poor understanding of phonon grain boundary scattering and its effect on thermal conductivity has impeded efforts to improve the thermoelectric figure of merit. Here, we report an ab-initio based computational study of thermal transport in nanocrystalline Si-based materials using a variance-reduced Monte Carlo method with the full phonon dispersion and intrinsic lifetimes from first-principles as input. By fitting the transmission profile of grain boundaries, we obtain excellent agreement with experimental thermal conductivity of nanocrystalline Si [Wang et al. Nano Letters 11, 2206 (2011)]. Based on these calculations, we examine phonon transport in nanocrystalline SiGe alloys with ab-initio electron-phonon scattering rates. Our calculations show that low energy phonons still transport substantial amounts of heat in these materials, despite scattering by electron-phonon interactions, due to the high transmission of phonons at grain boundaries, and thus improvements in ZT are still possible by disrupting these modes. This work demonstrates the important insights into phonon transport that can be obtained using ab-initio based Monte Carlo simulations in complex nanostructured materials.

Spectral Detail of Phonon Conduction and Scattering in Graphene

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dhruv Singh ◽  
Jayathi Y. Murthy ◽  
Timothy S. Fisher
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Conductivity ◽  
Phonon Scattering ◽  
Interatomic Potential ◽  
Phonon Dispersion ◽  
Transition Probabilities ◽  
Transition Probability ◽  
Phonon Transport ◽  
Temperature Perturbation ◽  
Boltzmann Transport ◽  
Wide Range

This paper examines the thermodynamic and thermal transport properties of the 2D graphene lattice. The interatomic interactions are modeled using the Tersoff interatomic potential and are used to evaluate phonon dispersion curves, density of states and thermodynamic properties of graphene as functions of temperature. Perturbation theory is applied to calculate the transition probabilities for three-phonon scattering. The matrix elements of the perturbing Hamiltonian are calculated using the anharmonic interatomic force constants obtained from the interatomic potential as well. An algorithm to accurately quantify the contours of energy balance for three-phonon scattering events is presented and applied to calculate the net transition probability from a given phonon mode. Under the linear approximation, the Boltzmann transport equation (BTE) is applied to compute the thermal conductivity of graphene, giving spectral and polarization-resolved information. Predictions of thermal conductivity for a wide range of parameters elucidate the behavior of diffusive phonon transport. The complete spectral detail of selection rules, important phonon scattering pathways, and phonon relaxation times in graphene are provided, contrasting graphene with other materials, along with implications for graphene electronics. We also highlight the specific scattering processes that are important in Raman spectroscopy based measurements of graphene thermal conductivity, and provide a plausible explanation for the observed dependence on laser spot size.

Theoretical Thermal Conductivity of Periodic Two-Dimensional Nanocomposites

2003 ◽  
Vol 793 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronggui Yang ◽  
Gang Chen
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Conductivity ◽  
Lattice Thermal Conductivity ◽  
High Efficiency ◽  
Transport Model ◽  
Cell Interaction ◽  
Phonon Transport ◽  
Two Dimensional ◽  
Boltzmann Transport ◽  
Volumetric Fraction ◽  
Strong Function

ABSTRACTA phonon Boltzmann transport model is established to study the lattice thermal conductivity of nanocomposites with nanowires embedded in a host semiconductor material. Special attention has been paid to cell-cell interaction using periodic boundary conditions. The simulation shows that the temperature profiles in nanocomposites are very different from those in conventional composites, due to ballistic phonon transport at nanoscale. The thermal conductivity of periodic 2-D nanocomposites is a strong function of the size of the embedded wires and the volumetric fraction of the constituent materials. At constant volumetric fraction the smaller the wire diameter, the smaller is the thermal conductivity of periodic two-dimensional nanocomposites. For fixed silicon wire dimension, the lower the atomic percentage of germanium, the lower the thermal conductivity of the nanocomposites. The results of this study can be used to direct the development of high efficiency thermoelectric materials.

scholarly journals Phonon Transport and Thermoelectric Properties of Imidazole-Graphyne

Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (19) ◽  
pp. 5604
Author(s):  
Yanyan Chen ◽  
Jie Sun ◽  
Wei Kang ◽  
Qian Wang
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Conductivity ◽  
Lattice Thermal Conductivity ◽  
Transport Theory ◽  
Hole Concentration ◽  
Chemical Properties ◽  
Phonon Transport ◽  
Thermoelectric Performance ◽  
Boltzmann Transport ◽  
Boltzmann Transport Theory ◽  
Carbon Based

The pentagon has been proven to be an important structural unit for carbon materials, leading to different physical and chemical properties from those of hexagon-based allotropes. Following the development from graphene to penta-graphene, a breakthrough has very recently been made for graphyne—for example, imidazole-graphyne (ID-GY) was formed by assembling experimentally synthesized pentagonal imidazole molecules and acetylenic linkers. In this work, we study the thermal properties and thermoelectric performance of ID-GY by combining first principle calculations with the Boltzmann transport theory. The calculated lattice thermal conductivity of ID-GY is 10.76 W/mK at 300 K, which is only one tenth of that of γ-graphyne (106.24 W/mK). A detailed analysis of the harmonic and anharmonic properties, including the phonon group velocity, phonon lifetime, atomic displacement parameter, and bond energy curves, reveals that the low lattice thermal conductivity can be attributed to the low Young’s modulus, low Debye temperature, and high Grüneisen parameter. Furthermore, at room temperature, ID-GY can reach a high ZT value of 0.46 with a 5.8 × 1012 cm−2 hole concentration, which is much higher than the value for many other carbon-based materials. This work demonstrates that changing structural units from hexagonal to pentagonal can significantly reduce the lattice thermal conductivity and enhance the thermoelectric performance of carbon-based materials.

Monte Carlo Simulation of the Thermal Conductivity and Phonon Transport in Nanocomposites

2005 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ming-Shan Jeng ◽  
Ronggui Yang ◽  
David Song ◽  
Gang Chen
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Conductivity ◽  
Monte Carlo Simulation ◽  
Monte Carlo ◽  
Silicon Germanium ◽  
High Efficiency ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Simulation Method ◽  
Phonon Transport ◽  
Boltzmann Transport ◽  
Nanoparticle Composites

This paper presents a Monte Carlo simulation scheme to study the phonon transport and thermal conductivity of nanocomposites. Special attention has been paid to the implementation of periodic boundary condition in Monte Carlo simulation. The scheme is applied to study the thermal conductivity of silicon germanium (Si-Ge) nanocomposites, which are of great interest for high efficiency thermoelectric material development. The Monte Carlo simulation was first validated by successfully reproducing the results of (two dimensional) nanowire composites using the deterministic solution of the phonon Boltzmann transport equation and the experimental thermal conductivity of bulk germanium, and then the validated simulation method was used to study (three dimensional) nanoparticle composites, where Si nanoparticles are embedded in Ge host. The size effects of phonon transport in nanoparticle composites were studied and the results show that the thermal conductivity of nanoparticle composites can be lower than alloy value. It was found that randomly distributed nanopaticles in nanocomposites rendered the thermal conductivity values close to that of periodic aligned patterns.

The Effects of Diameter and Chirality in the Thermal Transport in Free-Standing and Supported Carbon-Nanotubes

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bo Qiu ◽  
Yan Wang ◽  
Qing Zhao ◽  
Xiulin Ruan
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Conductivity ◽  
Molecular Dynamics ◽  
Thermal Transport ◽  
Lattice Thermal Conductivity ◽  
Axial Direction ◽  
Md Simulations ◽  
Phonon Transport ◽  
Free Standing ◽  
Effective Boundary ◽  
Phonon Lifetime

We use molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to explore the lattice thermal transport in freestanding and supported single-wall carbon-nanotube (SWCNT) in comparison to that in graphene nanoribbon (GNR) and graphene sheet. We find the lattice thermal conductivity of freestanding SWCNT and GNR increases with diameter/width and approaches that of graphene. This is partly attributed to the curvature that shortens phonon lifetime in SWCNT. In contrast to GNR, there is only weak chirality dependence in the thermal conductivity of freestanding SWCNT. When SWCNT is put on substrate, an effective boundary along the SWCNT axial direction at the SWCNT-substrate interface is created, rendering resemblance between the phonon transport in supported SWCNT and that in freestanding GNR. As a result, the thermal conductivity of supported SWCNTs differ by around 10%, depending on chirality. The thermal conductivity of SWCNT decreases by about 34–41% when supported, which is less than that of the reduction seen in supported graphene.

scholarly journals First-Principles Study on Lattice Dynamics and Thermal Conductivity of Thermoelectric Intermetallics Fe3Al2Si3

Crystals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 388
Author(s):  
Naoki Sato ◽  
Yoshiki Takagiwa
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Conductivity ◽  
First Principles ◽  
Thermal Transport ◽  
Lattice Thermal Conductivity ◽  
Phonon Scattering ◽  
Microscopic Mechanism ◽  
Practical Applications ◽  
Scattering Rate ◽  
Fine Microstructure ◽  
Thermal Displacements

Thermoelectric materials have been expected as a critical underlying technology for developing an autonomous power generation system driven at near room temperature. For this sake, Fe3Al2Si3 intermetallic compound is a promising candidate, though its high lattice thermal conductivity is a bottleneck toward practical applications. Herein, we have performed the first-principles calculations to clarify the microscopic mechanism of thermal transport and establish effective ways to reduce the lattice thermal conductivity of Fe3Al2Si3. Our calculations show that the lowest-lying optical mode has a significant contribution from Al atom vibration. It should correspond to large thermal displacements Al atoms. However, these behaviors do not directly cause an increase of the 3-phonon scattering rate. The calculated lattice thermal conductivity shows a typical temperature dependence and moderate magnitude. From the calculated thermal conductivity spectrum and cumulative thermal conductivity, we can see that there is much room to reduce the lattice thermal conductivity. We can expect that heavy-element doping on Al site and controlling fine microstructure are effective strategies to decrease the lattice thermal conductivity. This work suggests useful information to manipulate the thermal transport of Fe3Al2Si3, which will make this material closer to practical use.

scholarly journals Phonons and Thermal Transport in Si/SiO2 Multishell Nanotubes: Atomistic Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 3419
Author(s):  
Calina Isacova ◽  
Alexandr Cocemasov ◽  
Denis L. Nika ◽  
Vladimir M. Fomin
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Conductivity ◽  
Thermal Transport ◽  
Phonon Scattering ◽  
Geometrical Parameters ◽  
Boltzmann Transport ◽  
Si Nanowires ◽  
Relaxation Time Approximation ◽  
Atomistic Lattice ◽  
Key Factor ◽  
Atomistic Study

Thermal transport in the Si/SiO2 multishell nanotubes is investigated theoretically. The phonon energy spectra are obtained using the atomistic lattice dynamics approach. Thermal conductivity is calculated using the Boltzmann transport equation within the relaxation time approximation. Redistribution of the vibrational spectra in multishell nanotubes leads to a decrease of the phonon group velocity and the thermal conductivity as compared to homogeneous Si nanowires. Phonon scattering on the Si/SiO2 interfaces is another key factor of strong reduction of the thermal conductivity in these structures (down to 0.2 Wm−1K−1 at room temperature). We demonstrate that phonon thermal transport in Si/SiO2 nanotubes can be efficiently suppressed by a proper choice of nanotube geometrical parameters: lateral cross section, thickness and number of shells. We argue that such nanotubes have prospective applications in modern electronics, in cases when low heat conduction is required.

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