Thermal conductivity engineering in width-modulated silicon nanowires and thermoelectric efficiency enhancement

Abstract

Width-modulated nanowires have been proposed as efficient thermoelectric materials. Here, the electron and phonon transport properties and the thermoelectric efficiency are discussed for dimensions above the quantum confinement regime. The thermal conductivity decreases dramatically in the presence of thin constrictions due to their ballistic thermal resistance. It shows a scaling behavior upon the width-modulation rate that allows for thermal conductivity engineering. The electron conductivity also decreases due to enhanced boundary scattering by the constrictions. The effect of boundary scattering is weaker for electrons than for phonons and the overall thermoelectric efficiency is enhanced. A ZT enhancement by a factor of 20–30 is predicted for width-modulated nanowires compared to bulk silicon. Our findings indicate that width-modulated nanostructures are promising for developing silicon nanostructures with high thermoelectric efficiency.