Programme

P.48 -- Poster, VCTP-46

Date: Wednesday, 6 October 2021

Time: 08:30 - 10:00

Boundary-scattering induced Seebeck coefficient enhancement in thin films within relaxation time approximation

Viet Anh Tran(1), Toan The Nguyen(2), Hung Quoc Nguyen(3), Giang Huong Bach(1)*

(1) Computational Material Science Labs, Faculty of Physics, VNU University of Science, Hanoi, Vietnam (2) Key Labs for Multiscale Simulation of Complex Systems, VNU University of Science, Hanoi, Vietnam (3) Nano and Energy Center, VNU University of Science, Hanoi, Vietnam

We investigate Seebeck coefficient basing on the Boltzmann transport equation of electrons within relaxation time approximation. Using boundary condition along the film thickness of semiconductors, we observed the enhancement of Seebeck coefficient due to electrons elastically scattering on the boundary when the film thickness is reduced, which agrees with experimental observations and theoretical predictions. With this simple approximation, the Seebeck coefficient of the thin film possibly increases about only 10% in comparison with the bulk. The main factor that greatly affects the increase of Seebeck coefficient comes from the quantized energy levels of two-dimensional electron gas in thin films which control carrier concentrations of the system or the chemical potential in the thermodynamic limit.

Presenter: Bach Huong Giang