Numerical Modeling of Transient Thermoelectric Transports in Silicon Nanowire

Abstract

Thermoelectric materials with high figure of merit (zT) are very important to heat engines in the harvesting of waste heat. Silicon nanowire have attracted considerable attention due to its enhanced zT as compared to its bulk counterpart. This paper reports the transient transport behaviors of the thermoelectric silicon nanowire (SiNW) with diameters of 50nm over a temperature range of 260-400 K. For an accurate modeling of thermoelectric effects, the COMSOL Multiphysics software program is used to solve 3D thermoelectric field equations. In this work, numerical simulations of the Seebeck effect and the Peltier effect have been implemented to understand the transient transport behaviors of SiNW. Study results indicates that the Seebeck effect exhibits a shorter relaxation time of electric flow while the Peltier effect needs more time to build up a steady heat flow.