Line Edge Roughness Effects on the Thermoelectric Properties of Armchair Black Phosphorene Nanoribbons

TL;DR

This paper investigates how line edge roughness affects the thermoelectric properties of armchair black phosphorene nanoribbons, revealing size-dependent behaviors and optimizing conditions for enhanced thermoelectric performance.

Contribution

It introduces a detailed analysis of edge roughness effects on thermoelectric properties using tight-binding and Green's function methods, highlighting size-dependent trends.

Findings

Electrical conductivity increases with ribbon length and width.

Seebeck coefficient remains nearly constant across various parameters.

Figure of merit improves with size but diminishes at larger widths due to thermal conductivity.

Abstract

This study delves into the thermoelectric properties of armchair black phosphorene nanoribbons while considering the presence of line edge roughness. Employing the tight-binding method in conjunction with non-equilibrium Green's function techniques and Landauer formulas, we explore the impact of various parameters on thermoelectric performance. Our findings reveal that the electrical conductivity and, consequently, the power factor exhibit an increasing trend with expanding ribbon length and width. This behavior can be attributed to heightened collision rates, particularly in narrow ribbons, induced by line edge roughness as length increases. Remarkably, the Seebeck coefficient at the Fermi energy corresponding to the maximum power factor remains nearly constant across different widths, lengths, temperatures and transport regimes. Furthermore, the thermoelectric figure of merit demonstrates a positive correlation with both ribbon length and width. In narrow widths and lengths around 1000 nm, the power factor and figure of merit exhibit an upward trend with ribbon width. However, with further increases in ribbon width, the influence of line edge roughness on thermal conductivity diminishes. Consequently, the figure of merit decreases due to the rise in thermal conductivity. Notably, the thermoelectric figure of merit is higher for short and narrow ribbons and long and wider ribbons.