Comprehensive Analysis of Electron Evaporative Cooling in Double-Barrier Semiconductor Heterostructures

Abstract

Based on full quantum-transport simulations, we report a comprehensive study of the evaporative cooling process in a double-barrier semiconductor heterostructure thermionic refrigerator. Our model, which self-consistently solves the nonequilibrium Green's function framework and the heat equation, is capable of calculating the electron temperature and electrochemical potential inside the device. By investigating the dependence of those thermodynamic parameters as a function of the barrier thickness and height, we answer open questions on evaporative cooling in solid-state systems, and give a clear recipe to reach high electron refrigeration. In particular, simulation results demonstrate that the best cooling is obtained when (i) the device operates at the maximum resonant condition; (ii) the quantum well state is symmetrically coupled with the contacts. The present results then shed light on physical properties of evaporative cooling in semiconductor heterostructures and will allow the development of thermionic cooling devices towards unprecedented performances to be sped up.