Abstract
We present a conceptual study motivated by electrical and thermoelectrical measurements on various near-resonant tunnel junctions. The squeezable nano junction technique allows the quasi-synchronous measurement of conductance G, I(V) characteristics and Seebeck coefficient S. Correlations between G and S are uncovered, in particular boundaries for S(G). We find the simplest and consistent description of the observed phenomena in the framework of the single level resonant tunneling model within which measuring I(V) and S suffice for determining all model parameters. We can further employ the model for assigning thermoelectric efficiencies eta without measuring the heat flow. Within the ensemble of thermoelectric data, junctions with assigned eta close to the Carnot limit can be identified. These insights allow providing design rules for optimized thermoelectric efficiency in nanoscale junctions.
Highlights
We present a conceptual study motivated by electrical and thermoelectrical measurements on various near-resonant tunnel junctions
The squeezable nanojunctions (SNJ) technique allows due to its extreme stability an immediate comparison of S and G, along with the additional information provided by the full I(V) of every single configuration, i.e. for the very same atomistic structure[15]
The recent development of the SNJ technique allows for quasi-synchronous measurement of I(V) characteristics and the Seebeck coefficient S of nanojunctions
Summary
We present a conceptual study motivated by electrical and thermoelectrical measurements on various near-resonant tunnel junctions. The latter were introduced by molecules, nanoparticles and even unspecified contamination states that are sporadically observed in such experiments These near-resonant configurations commonly enhanced the thermoelectric effects in a broad conductance range This representation puts emphasis on the evolution of the shape, but suppresses the exponential increase of conductance. After each I(V) measurement, S is recorded such that each G − S
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