Liquid metal contact as possible element for thermotunneling

TL;DR

This study explores liquid metal contacts, specifically Hg/Si and Hg/Cu, for thermotunneling devices, demonstrating their electrical and thermal properties, and proposing liquid Cs in Hg to lower work function for room temperature cooling.

Contribution

It introduces liquid metal contacts as potential elements for thermotunneling, analyzing their electrical and thermal characteristics and proposing modifications to improve performance.

Findings

Hg/Si exhibits tunneling I-V characteristics due to nanogaps.

Heat conductance is 3-4 times higher in high wetting contacts.

Work function of liquid Cs in Hg is reduced to 2.6 eV.

Abstract

We investigated a possibility of application of liquid metal contacts for devices based on thermotunneling. Electric and thermal characteristics of low wetting contact Hg/Si, and high wetting contacts Hg/Cu were determined and compared. We got tunneling I-V characteristics for Hg/Si, while for Hg/Cu, I-V characteristics were ohmic. We explained tunneling I-V characteristics by presence of nanogap between the contact materials. Heat conductance of high wetting and low wetting contacts were compared, using calorimeter measurements. Heat conductance of high wetting contact was 3-4 times more than of low wetting contact. Both electric and thermal characteristics of liquid metal contact indicated that it could be used for thermotunneling devices. We solved liquid Cs in liquid Hg to reduce work function and make liquid metal more suitable for room temperature cooling. Work function as low as 2.6 eV was obtained.