Open AccessSEMICONDUTTORI NANOSTRUTTURATI PER APPLICAZIONI TERMOELETTRICHE: UN CONCETTO INNOVATIVO DIMOSTRATO AL COMPUTER
Author(s) -
Luciano Colombo
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
rendiconti. classe di scienze matematiche e naturali
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2384-986X
pISSN - 1974-6989
DOI - 10.4081/scie.2014.193
Subject(s) - nanocomposite , thermoelectric effect , phonon , materials science , humanities , thermal , physics , thermodynamics , nanotechnology , condensed matter physics , philosophy
I will discuss the thermal transport properties of nanostructured silicongermanium alloys for thermoelectric applications. By means of atomistic simulations, I will show that it is in fact possible to design a nanocomposite with optimal thermoelectric performances, i.e. maximizing its figure of merit. In particular, computer experiments provide quantitative evidence that the phonon flux from hot to cold regions (phonons are the microscopic heat carriers) is dramatically affected by the network of grain boundaries present in the nanocomposite