Electronic Fabry-Perot Cavity Engineered Nanoscale Thermoelectric Generators

In this work, we aim to design a heterostructure-based nanoscale thermoelectric generator that can maximize the waste-heat conversion efficiency at a given output power. The primary objective to be achieved for this is to realize a boxcar-shaped (band-pass) electronic transmission function [Phys. Rev. Lett. 112, 130601 (2014)]. In order to achieve that, we propose the use of an electronic analog of an optical Fabry-Perot cavity over a central resonant-tunneling structure. We further explore the optimum design possibilities by varying the geometry of the cavity wall to ensure a nearly perfect band-pass energy filtering of electrons. Based on our findings, we propose a general design guideline to realize such transmission and demonstrate that such devices can be excellent thermoelectric generators as compared to the existing proposals in terms of boosting the output power without a cost in efficiency. It is theoretically demonstrated using the nonequilibrium Green's function technique coupled with self-consistent charging effects that an enhancement in the maximum output power up to 116% can be achieved through this scheme at a 10% higher efficiency as compared to resonant-tunneling-based devices. Furthermore, an elaborate comparative study of the linear response parameters is also presented and explained in terms of the physical transport properties. This study suggests an optimal device design strategy for an improved thermoelectric generator and sets the stage for a class of thermoelectric generators facilitated via transmission line-shape engineering