# The role of metallic leads and electronic degeneracies in thermoelectric power generation in quantum dots

## TL;DR

This study investigates how metallic leads and electronic degeneracies affect thermoelectric power generation in graphene quantum dots, revealing the impact of spin degeneracy and heat exchange on device efficiency.

## Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis of the influence of electronic degeneracies and lead properties on thermoelectric performance in quantum dot devices.

## Key findings

- Spin degeneracy increases the power factor.
- Non-ideal heat exchange suppresses power factor.
- Temperature dependence of power factor is affected by lead properties.

## Abstract

The power factor of a thermoelectric device is a measure of the heat-to-energy conversion efficiency in nanoscopic devices. Yet, even as interest in low-dimensional thermoelectric materials has increased, experimental research on what influences the power factor in these systems is scarce. Here, we present a detailed thermoelectric study of graphene quantum dot devices. We show that spin-degeneracy of the quantum dot states has a significant impact on the zero-bias conductance of the device and leads to an increase of the power factor. Conversely, we demonstrate that non-ideal heat exchange within the leads can suppress the power factor near the charge degeneracy point and non-trivially influences its temperature dependence.