Thermoelectric three-terminal hopping transport through one-dimensional nanosystems

TL;DR

This paper investigates thermoelectric transport in a nanoscale two-site system connected to leads and a phonon bath, revealing a highly efficient figure of merit for energy conversion.

Contribution

It introduces a model of three-terminal hopping transport in a one-dimensional nanosystem and evaluates its thermoelectric efficiency using a linear transport matrix.

Findings

The three-terminal setup enhances thermoelectric performance.

The figure of merit is significantly improved in the model.

Hopping transport is effective for nanoscale thermoelectric devices.

Abstract

A two-site nanostructure (e.g, a "molecule") bridging two conducting leads and connected to a phonon bath is considered. The two relevant levels closest to the Fermi energy are connected each to its lead. The leads have slightly different temperatures and chemical potentials and the nanos- tructure is also coupled to a thermal (third) phonon bath. The 3 x 3 linear transport ("Onsager") matrix is evaluated, along with the ensuing new figure of merit, and found to be very favorable for thermoelectric energy conversion.