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Thermoelectric Transport in Superlattices

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 February 2011

T. L. Reinecke
Affiliation:
Naval Research Laboratory, Washington DC 20375
D. A. Broido
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA 02167
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Abstract

The thermoelectric transport properties of superlattices have been studied using an exact solution of the Boltzmann equation. The role of heat transport along the barrier layers, of carrier tunneling through the barriers, of valley degeneracy and of the well width and energy dependences of the carrier-phonon scattering rates on the thermoelectric figure of merit are given. Calculations are given for Bi2Te3 and for PbTe, and the results of recent experiments are discussed.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1997

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