Dresden 2014 – scientific programme

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HL: Fachverband Halbleiterphysik

HL 49: Energy materials: Thermoelectrics

HL 49.5: Talk

Tuesday, April 1, 2014, 15:00–15:15, POT 051

Thermoelectric transverse voltage by Joule heating — a Boltzmann equation approach beyond quasi-equilibrium — •Stephan Rojek, Alfred Hucht, and Jürgen König — Theoretische Physik, Universität Duisburg-Essen and CENIDE, 47048 Duisburg, Germany

We consider structures within a two-dimensional electron gas where a thermoelectric transverse voltage is measured perpendicular to an input current. The latter gives rise to Joule heating. An external potential induced by surface gates breaks the transverse symmetry. To realize tunable rectification devices [1] or to get insight into thermoelectric transport properties of the electron gas [2] are two of various applications. Heat diffusion and finite size effects lead to a non-trivial temperature profile, which have to be taken into account if the device’s dimensions are of the order of the energy diffusion length.
We employ a Boltzmann equation approach beyond the quasi-equilibrium description with an effective chemical potential and temperature. An expansion in moments of the distribution function allows for a systematic calculation of all non-equilibrium contributions.
[1] A. Ganczarczyk, S. Rojek, A. Quindeau, M. Geller, A. Hucht, C. Notthoff, J. König, A. Lorke, D. Reuter, and A. D. Wieck, Phys. Rev. B 86, 085309 (2012).
[2] W. E. Chickering, J. P. Eisenstein, and J. L. Reno, Phys. Rev. Lett. 103, 046807 (2009).