Enhanced thermoelectric efficiency of zigzag bilayer phosphorene nanoribbon; edge states engineering

TL;DR

This paper theoretically explores how edge state engineering in zigzag bilayer phosphorene nanoribbons can significantly enhance their thermoelectric efficiency by manipulating edge modes and applying periodic potentials.

Contribution

It introduces an analytical approach linking edge states to thermoelectric properties and proposes engineering methods to optimize efficiency in ZBPNRs.

Findings

Edge states can be used to improve thermoelectric efficiency.

Applying periodic point potentials further enhances performance.

Analytical band structure and wave functions are derived for ZBPNRs.

Abstract

We theoretically investigate the thermoelectric properties of zigzag bilayer phosphorene nanoribbons (ZBPNR). We first, draw an analogy between the extended Su-Schrieffer-Heeger (SSH) ladder and ZBPNR edge states and obtain their corresponding band structure and wave functions analytically. Then, by applying the energy filtering method, we show that the electric power and thermoelectric efficiency of the ZBPNRs can be improved remarkably in the presence of mid-gap edge states. We also argue how to engineer the edge modes to further optimize thermoelectric power and efficiency of the system by applying periodic point potentials at the boundaries.