Nanowires for heat conversion

Abstract

This review focuses on the investigation and enhancement of the thermoelectric properties of semiconducting nanowires (NWs). NWs are nanostructures with typical diameters between few to hundreds of nm and length of few to several microns, exhibiting a high surface-to-volume ratio. Nowadays an extraordinary control over their growth has been achieved, enabling also the integration of different types of heterostructures, which can lead to the engineering of the functional properties of the NWs. In this review, we discuss all concepts which have been presented and achieved so far for the improvements of the thermoelectric performances of semiconducting NWs. Furthermore, we present a brief survey of the experimental methods which enable the investigation of the thermoelectric properties of these nanostructures.

Topical Review

References in corpus (6)

• Calculation of nanowire thermal conductivity using complete phonon dispersion relations
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• One-Dimensional Quantum Confinement Effect Modulated Thermoelectric Properties in InAs Nanowires
• Growth and optical properties of axial hybrid III-V/Si nanowires
• Coherent phonon scattering effects on thermal transport in thin semiconductor nanowires
• An analytical law for size effects on thermal conductivity of nanostructures