Increasing thermoelectric performance using coherent transport

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that quantum interference in zero-dimensional systems can be engineered to significantly improve thermoelectric efficiency by optimizing electron transport properties.

Contribution

It introduces a quantum-engineering method to enhance thermoelectric performance using coherent transport in quantum dots or molecules.

Findings

Enhanced thermoelectric power and efficiency at maximum power.

Suppressed parasitic charge flow near the Fermi energy.

Reduced electronic heat conduction through interference effects.

Abstract

We show that coherent electron transport through zero-dimensional systems can be used to tailor the shape of the system's transmission function. This quantum-engineering approach can be used to enhance the performance of quantum dots or molecules in thermal-to-electric power conversion. Specifically, we show that electron interference in a two-level system can substantially improve the maximum thermoelectric power and the efficiency at maximum power by suppressing parasitic charge flow near the Fermi energy, and by reducing electronic heat conduction. We discuss possible realizations of this approach in molecular junctions or quantum dots.