High-frequency phonons drive large phonon-drag thermopower in semiconductors at high carrier density

Li, Chunhua; Protik, Nakib H.; Ravichandran, Navaneetha K.; Broido, David

doi:10.1103/physrevb.107.l081202

High-frequency phonons drive large phonon-drag thermopower in semiconductors at high carrier density

Journal Article · Tue Feb 07 00:00:00 EST 2023 · Physical Review. B

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevb.107.l081202· OSTI ID:1923498

Li, Chunhua ^[1]; ^[2]; Ravichandran, Navaneetha K. ^[3]; ^[4]

Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA (United States); Boston College
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (Germany)
Indian Inst. of Science, Bangalore (India)
Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA (United States)

It has been well established that (i) the thermopower of semiconductors can be enhanced through a phe- nomenon known as the drag effect, and (ii) the drag enhancement involves only low-frequency acoustic phonons and benefits from low electron densities and low temperatures. Using first-principles calculations we show that large drag enhancements to the thermopower are possible at high carrier density even at room temperature and arise from high-frequency acoustic phonons. A fascinating example is cubic boron arsenide (BAs) for which the calculated room temperature drag enhancement of the thermopower exceeds an order of magnitude at a high hole density of 10²¹ cm^–3. This remarkable behavior stems from the simultaneously weak phonon-phonon and phonon-hole scattering of the high-frequency phonons in BAs that become drag active at high carrier densities through electron-phonon interactions. Furthermore, this work advances our understanding of coupled electron-phonon nanoscale transport and introduces an unexpected paradigm for achieving large thermopowers.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES). Materials Sciences & Engineering Division

Grant/Contract Number:: SC0021071

OSTI ID:: 1923498

Journal Information:: Physical Review. B, Journal Name: Physical Review. B Journal Issue: 8 Vol. 107; ISSN 2469-9950

Publisher:: American Physical Society (APS)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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High-frequency phonons drive large phonon-drag thermopower in semiconductors at high carrier density

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