Modeling and analysis of thermoelectric energy conversion efficiency in nanostructures

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Physics and Materials Science.[EN]: Recently, nanostructured materials are received tremendous research interests because of their exceptional properties and great potential in applications. In this thesis, we investigated the thermoelectric transport properties of Si and Ge nanomembranes and nanowires as well as silica nanoclusters by using density functional theory calculations combined with Landauer-Büttiker formalism in the linear response regime. We also investigated the thermoelectric coeficients for quantum devices in the Coulomb blockade regime.[ES]: Recientemente, los materiales nanoestructurados han recibido un gran interés por sus excepcionales propiedades y su enorme potencial para aplicaciones. En esta tesis investigamos las propiedades de transporte termoeléctrico de nanomembranas y nanohilos de Si y el Ge así como nanoclusters de silicio utilizando cálculos de teoría del funcional de la densidad combinados con el formalismo Landauer-Büttiker en régimen de respuesta lineal. También investigamos los coeficientes termoeléctricos para dispositivos cuánticos en régimen Coulomb blockade.I would also like to thank the financial support of the consolider nanoTHERM project, the ERC project, the GC Grupos Consolidados project, the AIRFORCE project, and the Basque government.Peer reviewe