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Geometric Symmetry Breaking and Nonlinearity Can Increase Thermoelectric Power

Jonatan Fast1,2, Hanna Lundström1,2, Sven Dorsch1,2, Lars Samuelson1,2,3, Adam Burke1,2, Peter Samuelsson1,4, and Heiner Linke1,2

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Phys. Rev. Lett. 133, 116302 – Published 11 September, 2024

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.133.116302

Abstract

Direct thermal-to-electric energy converters typically operate in the linear regime, where the ratio of actual maximum power relative to the ideal maximum power, the so-called fill factor (FF), is 0.25. Here, we show, based on fundamental symmetry considerations, that the leading order nonlinear terms that can increase the FF require devices with broken spatial symmetry. Studying nonlinear, thermoelectric transport across an asymmetric energy barrier defined in a single semiconductor nanowire, we find in both experiment and theory that we can increase the FF as well as maximum power. Geometric symmetry breaking combined with the design of nonlinear behavior thus represents a strategy for increasing the performance of thermoelectric or hot-carrier devices.

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Phys. Rev. Lett. 133, 116302– Published 11 September, 2024
  • Received 28 February 2024
  • Accepted 12 July 2024
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Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI. Funded by Bibsam.

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