Electron Monte Carlo Simulations of Nanoporous Si Thin Films -- The Influence of Pore-Edge Charges

TL;DR

This paper uses electron Monte Carlo simulations to study how pore-edge charges affect electron transport and electrical conductivity in nanoporous silicon films, relevant for thermoelectric applications.

Contribution

It introduces a detailed Monte Carlo simulation approach to model the impact of pore-edge charges on electron transport in nanoporous silicon, advancing previous models.

Findings

Pore-edge charges significantly influence electron mobility.

Electric field effects alter scattering mechanisms and conductivity.

Simulation results align with experimental trends.

Abstract

Electron transport within nanostructures can be important to varied engineering applications, such as thermoelectrics and nanoelectronics. In theoretical studies, electron Monte Carlo simulations are widely used as an alternative approach to solving the electron Boltzmann transport equation, where the energy-dependent electron scattering, exact structure shape, and detailed electric field distribution can be fully incorporated. In this work, such electron Monte Carlo simulations are employed to predict the electrical conductivity of periodic nanoporous Si films that have been widely studied for thermoelectric applications. The focus is on the influence of pore-edge charges on the electron transport. The results are further compared to our previous modeling [Hao et al., J. Appl. Phys. 121, 094308 (2017)], where the pore-edge electric field has its own scattering rate to be added to the scattering rates of other mechanisms.