# Thermal Conductivity Reduction and Thermoelectric Figure of Merit Increase by Embedding Nanoparticles in Crystalline Semiconductors

 Title Thermal Conductivity Reduction and Thermoelectric Figure of Merit Increase by Embedding Nanoparticles in Crystalline Semiconductors Publication Type Journal Article Year of Publication 2006 Authors Kim W, Zide J, Gossard A, Klenov D, Stemmer S, Shakouri A, Majumdar A Journal Title Physical Review Letters Volume 96 Pagination 045901-4 Keywords arsenic alloys, erbium alloys, gallium arsenide, III-V semiconductors, indium compounds, nanoparticles, phonon-defect interactions, point defect scattering, thermal conductivity, thermoelectricity Abstract Atomic substitution in alloys can efficiently scatter phonons, thereby reducing the thermal conductivity in crystalline solids to the "alloy limit." Using In0.53Ga0.47As containing ErAs nanoparticles, we demonstrate thermal conductivity reduction by almost a factor of 2 below the alloy limit and a corresponding increase in the thermoelectric figure of merit by a factor of 2. A theoretical model suggests that while point defects in alloys efficiently scatter short-wavelength phonons, the ErAs nanoparticles provide an additional scattering mechanism for the mid-to-long-wavelength phonons.©2006 The American Physical Society URL http://link.aps.org/abstract/PRL/v96/e045901 Full Text