Anomalous enhancement of thermoelectric power factor by thermal management with resonant level effect

Obtaining high thermoelectric performance has been the biggest historical challenge for thermoelectric power generation. Here, we propose a methodology for thermoelectric power factor enhancement: thermal management with resonant level effect for simultaneous increase of electrical conductivity sigma and Seebeck coefficient S. Au crystals and Au impurities are introduced into SiGe. Therein, (1) highly-conductive Au crystals increased sigma. (2) Au impurities brought about resonant level effect and phonon scattering, resulting in enhanced S and lowered thermal conductivity kappa of SiGe. (3) This kappa distribution control brings the focus of temperature difference on SiGe parts with lowered kappa, resulting in the availability of the enhanced S of SiGe parts as effective S of the entire nanocomposite. Consequently, we achieved the highest S-2 sigma at room temperature among SiGe-related materials ever reported. Electronic structure calculation and measurement support the existence of resonant levels, which enhances S and lowers kappa. These results provide a new route to thermoelectric performance enhancement.

Automated summary

The study proposes a new method for enhancing thermoelectric power factor by utilizing the resonant level effect for thermal management to increase electrical conductivity and Seebeck coefficient. Introduction of Au crystals and Au impurities resulted in the highest S-2σ among SiGe-related materials ever reported, highlighting the potential for thermoelectric performance enhancement.