Abstract

The effect of surface roughness on the figure-of-merit of a thin film for thermionic cooling with a single rough surface is investigated. The surface roughness is described in terms of a random Gaussian roughness convoluted with a domain size distribution. For rough surfaces due to domains, the figure-of-merit depends strongly on the average domain size ζ and in-plane correlation length ξ. The roughness strongly affects the figure-of-merit as a function of the film thickness. For a large average domain size ζ or correlation length ξ, a figure-of-merit minimum appears at a certain film thickness. Finally, the analogy of the roughness effect on the figure-of-merit between thermionic and thermoelectric devices is examined. It is found that the figure-of-merit for thermionics is less than that of thermoelectrics.

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