Improve Thermoelectric Efficiency of Silicon Nanowires

摘要

In this project, we have focused on how to improve the thermoelectric properties of Silicon nanowires, in particular by using doping. We have studied two kinds of doping for Silicon nanowires (1) Silicon nanowire is doped with its isotope. We found that when Si28 nanowire is doped with 50% Si29 its figure of merit (ZT) can be enhanced by 31%. (2) Silicon nanowire is doped with Ge. Our study shows that when n-type Silicon nanowire is doped with 50% Ge, its ZT can be 4.3 times of that of Si nanowires. This means that if the ZT value of Si nanowire is about 0.6-1 as claimed by experiments, then the ZT value of n-type Si0.5Ge0.5 can be as high as 2.5-4.3. This makes Ge doped Si nanowire a promising candidate for industrial applications.