Thermal diffusivity characterization of Bi{sub}2Te{sub}3 nanowires array inside amorphous alumina template

摘要

In the recent years there has been an increasing interest in low-dimensional thermoelectric materials such as superlattices, quantum dots and nanowires [1,2,3]. An enhancement in thermoelectric figure-of-merit, Z = σα{sup}2/k, where a is the Seebeck coefficient, σ is electrical conductivity, and k is the thermal conductivity, is predicted due to increased density of states near Fermi level [4]. A large contribution to the enhancement of thermoelectric figure-of-merit in low-dimensional systems may come from thermal conductivity reduction due to increased scattering of heat carriers from interfaces. In this light, we are interested in thermal properties of Bi{sub}2Te{sub}3 nanowires and carried out thermal diffusivity characterization of these nanowires embedded in an amorphous alumina template.