High-efficiency thermoelectric (TE) materials are important for power-generation devices that are designed to convert waste heat into electrical energy.They can also be used in solid-state refrigeration devices.The conversion of waste heat into electrical energy may play an important role in our current challenge to develop alternative energy technologies to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. An overview of various TE phenomena and materials is provided in this issue of MRS Bulletin. Several of the current applications and key parameters are defined and discussed.Novel applications of TE materials include biothermal batteries to power heart pacemakers, enhanced performance of optoelectronics coupled with solid-state TE cooling, and power generation for deep-space probes via radioisotope TE generators.A number of different systems of potential TE materials are currently under investigation by various research groups around the world, and many of these materials are reviewed in the articles in this issue.These range from thin-film superlattice materials to large single-crystal or polycrystalline bulk materials, and from semiconductors and semimetals to ceramic oxides.The phonon-glass/electron-crystal approach to new TE materials is presented, along with the role of solid-state crystal chemistry.Research criteria for developing new materials are highlighted.

/pdf/thermoelectric-materials-phenomena-and-applications-a-bird-s-2e5bqpy32n.pdf

Thermoelectric materials, phenomena, and applications : A bird's eye view

The propagation of waves supported by capacitively loaded loops is investigated using a circuit model in which each loop is coupled magnetically to a number of other loops. Since the coupling is due to induced voltages the waves are referred to as magnetoinductive (MI) waves. The mathematical formulations are mostly analytical thanks to long standing previous work on the magnetic and electric fields generated by currents flowing in loops. Retardation is neglected, i.e., dimensions of the structure are assumed to be small relative to the free space wavelength. The dispersion relations, derived in the most general case for a tetragonal three-dimensional structure, exhibit both forward and backward waves within a pass band. It is shown that for reproducing the salient features of the waves it is sufficient to take nearest neighbor coupling into account but coupling between loops further away must also be considered if higher accuracy is required. The investigations include that of resonances, conditions for the existence of traveling waves, tolerances, and streamlines of the Poynting vector. Waveguide components, like bends, power dividers and couplers are considered due to the potential applications of the MI waves as magnetic guides. Generality of the results, their possible implications for transverse electromagnetic wave propagation, previous work on similar waves, including the possibility of phase conjugation, are discussed in a separate section.

Magnetoinductive waves in one, two, and three dimensions

Graphene, a single-atom-thick layer of sp 2 -hybridized carbon atoms, has generated considerable excitement in the scientifi c community due to its peculiar electronic band structure, which leads to unusual phenomena such as the anomalous quantum Hall effect, [ 1,2 ] spin-resolved quantum interference, [ 3 ] ballistic electron transport, [ 4 ] and bipolar supercurrent. [ 5 ] However, pristine graphene is a semimetal with zero bandgap; the local density of states at the Fermi level is zero and conduction can only occur by the thermal excitation of electrons. [ 2 ] This lack of an electronic bandgap is the major obstacle limiting the utilization of graphene in nano-electronic and -photonic devices, [ 6,7 ] such as p–n junctions, transistors, photodiodes, and lasers. The graphene band structure is sensitive to lattice symmetry and several methods have been developed to break this symmetry and open an energy gap. These methods are based on a variety of techniques, such as defect generation, [ 8 ] doping (e.g., with potassium [ 9 ] ), applied bias, [ 10–12 ] and interaction with gases [ 13 ] (e.g., nitrogen dioxide). For instance, in reference [ 12 ] a tunable bandgap of up to 0.25 eV was achieved for electrically gated bilayer graphene by a variable external electric fi eld. Similarly, an internal electric fi eld produced by an imbalance of doped charge between two graphene layers has been shown to open a bandgap. [ 9 ] It has been demonstrated that a gap of ≈ 0.26 eV can be produced by growing graphene epitaxially on silicon carbide substrates. [ 14 ] This gap originated from the breaking of sublattice symmetry due to the graphene–substrate interaction. Patterned adsorption of atomic hydrogen onto the Moire superlattice positions of graphene [ 15 ] has resulted in a bandgap of ≈ 0.73 eV opening, while half-hydrogenated graphene [ 16 ] resulted in a bandgap of ≈ 0.43 eV. A graphene nanomesh structure [ 17 ] has also been shown to exhibit a bandgap. In this graphene structure, lateral quantum confi nement and localization effects due to

Tunable bandgap in graphene by the controlled adsorption of water molecules.

The femtosecond-fast transport in metal–insulator–metal (MIM) tunnel diodes makes them attractive for applications such as ultra-high frequency rectenna detectors and solar cells, and mixers. These applications impose severe requirements on the diode current–voltage I ( V ) characteristics. For example, rectennas operating at terahertz or higher frequencies require diodes to have low resistance and adequate nonlinearity. To analyze and design MIM diodes with the desired characteristics, we developed a simulator based on the transfer-matrix method, and verified its accuracy by comparing simulated I ( V ) characteristics with those measured in MIM diodes that we fabricated by sputtering, and also with simulations based on the quantum transmitting boundary method. Single-insulator low-resistance diodes are not sufficiently nonlinear for efficient rectennas. Multi-insulator diodes can be engineered to provide both low resistance and substantial nonlinearity. The improved performance of multi-insulator diodes can result from either resonant tunneling or a step change in tunneling distance with voltage, either of which can be made to dominate by the appropriate choice of insulators and barrier thicknesses. The stability of the interfaces in the MIIM diodes is confirmed through a thermodynamic analysis.

Engineering the current-voltage characteristics of metal-insulator-metal diodes using double-insulator tunnel barriers

A semiconductor structure includes of a plurality of semiconductor fins overlying an insulator layer, a gate dielectric overlying a portion of said semiconductor fin, and a gate electrode overlying the gate dielectric. Each of the semiconductor fins has a top surface, a first sidewall surface, and a second sidewall surface. Dopant ions are implanted at a first angle (e.g., greater than about 7°) with respect to the normal of the top surface of the semiconductor fin to dope the first sidewall surface and the top surface. Further dopant ions are implanted with respect to the normal of the top surface of the semiconductor fin to dope the second sidewall surface and the top surface.

Doping of semiconductor fin devices

1. The electron as a particle 2. The electron as a wave 3. The electron 4. The hydrogen atom and the periodic table 5. Bonds 6. The free electron theory of metals 7. The band theory of solids 8. Semiconductors 9. Principles of semiconductor devices 10. Dielectric materials 11. Magnetic materials 12. Lasers 13. Optoelectronics 14. Superconductivity 15. Metamaterials

/pdf/electrical-properties-of-materials-512iqfjbv7.pdf

Donald Walsh

Papers

Electrical properties of materials