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Domain Roughness Effect on the Figure‐of‐Merit for Thermionic Cooling
Author(s) -
Lü X.,
Chu J.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
physica status solidi (b)
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.51
H-Index - 109
eISSN - 1521-3951
pISSN - 0370-1972
DOI - 10.1002/1521-3951(200211)234:2<571::aid-pssb571>3.0.co;2-i
Subject(s) - figure of merit , surface finish , thermionic emission , surface roughness , materials science , optics , condensed matter physics , physics , composite material , nuclear physics , electron
The effect of surface roughness on the figure‐of‐merit of a thin film for thermionic cooling with a single rough surface is investigated. The surface roughness is described in terms of a random Gaussian roughness convoluted with a domain size distribution. For rough surfaces due to domains, the figure‐of‐merit depends strongly on the average domain size ζ and in‐plane correlation length ξ . The roughness strongly affects the figure‐of‐merit as a function of the film thickness. For a large average domain size ζ or correlation length ξ , a figure‐of‐merit minimum appears at a certain film thickness. Finally, the analogy of the roughness effect on the figure‐of‐merit between thermionic and thermoelectric devices is examined. It is found that the figure‐of‐merit for thermionics is less than that of thermoelectrics.