Investigating in detail the physics of energy filtering through a single planar energy barrier in nanostructured thermoelectric generators, we reinforce the non-trivial result that the anticipated enhancement in generated power at a given efficiency via energy filtering is a characteristic of systems dominated by incoherent scattering and is absent in ballistic devices. In such cases, assuming an energy dependent relaxation time τ(E) = kE r, we show that there exists a minimum value r min beyond which generation can be enhanced by embedding nanobarriers. For bulk generators with embedded nanobarriers, we delve into the details of inter sub-band scattering and show that it has finite contribution to the enhancement in generation. We subsequently discuss the realistic aspects, such as the effect of smooth transmission cut-off and show that for r > r min, the optimized energy barrier is just sufficiently wide enough to scatter off low energy electrons, a very wide barrier being detrimental to the performance. Analysis of the obtained results should provide general design guidelines for enhancement in thermoelectric generation via energy filtering. Our non-equilibrium approach is typically valid in the absence of local quasi-equilibrium and hence sets the stage for future advancements in thermoelectric device analysis, for example, Peltier cooling near a barrier interface.

We observe variation in the resistively-detected nuclear magnetic resonance (RDNMR) lineshapes in quantum Hall breakdown. The breakdown is locally occurred in a gate-defined quantum point contact (QPC) region. Of particular interest is the observation of a dispersive lineshape occured when the bulk 2D electron gas (2DEG) is set to ν b = 2 and the QPC filling factor to the vicinity of νQPC = 1, strikingly resemble the dispersive lineshape observed on a 2D quantum Hall state. This previously unobserved lineshape in a QPC points to simultaneous occurrence of two hyperfinemediated spin flip-flop processes within the QPC. Those events give rise to two different sets of nuclei polarized in the opposite direction and positioned at a separate region with different degree of electronic spin polarization.Recent advent in NMR technique through a resistive detection (RDNMR) has made it possible to study various spin physics in a 2D quantum Hall system [1][2][3][4][5][6][7], and a quasi-1D channel [8,9]. Despite the success achieved, a certain aspect related to the origin of the RDNMR lineshape variations noted experimentally in continuous wave (cw) mode is still poorly understood. One of them involved the puzzling observation of a dispersive lineshape in the quantum Hall state, a resistance dip followed by a resistance peak resonance line with increasing radio frequency [10]. It is first reported by Desrat et al [11] in the vicinity of ν b = 1 and has been confirmed in a number of follow-up papers [7,[12][13][14][15][16][17]. Similar dispersive like lineshape has been observed as well in the vicinity of ν b = 2/9[18], ν b = 2/3, ν b = 1/3 [19], and at ν b = 2 Landau level crossing [20]. A number of appealing explanations has been put forward, but none of them provides a comprehensive explanation. Part of the reason why it still is difficult to unravel its physical origin is that we do not have a mature level of understanding about manybody 2D electronic states at the first Landau level yet, let alone their coupling to the nuclear spin. Thus, it would be highly desirable to study the lineshape variations in a platform where one can avoid such complexity.In this Rapid Communication, we resort to a quasione dimensional system in a gate-defined quantum point contact (QPC) to study various possible lineshapes including the dispersive lineshape noted experimentally in cw mode. Unlike on the 2D system, the mechanism for generation and resistive detection of nuclear spin polarization is tractable, allowing conveniently a direct interpretation of the observed lineshapes.Generation and detection of nuclear spin polarization are achieved by setting the filling factor in the bulk 2DEG to ν b = 2 and ν QPC = 1 in the QPC[21-30]. Fig. 1(a)-(b) schematically displays how the nuclear polarization affects the transmission probability through the potential barrier of the QPC. For ν QPC < 1 (the down-spin channel T ↓ does not affect the transport), the up-spin channel T ↑ sees an increase(decrease) in the barrier potential in the presence of p...

Employing non-equilibrium quantum transport models, we investigate the details and operating conditions of nano-structured Peltier coolers embedded with an energy filtering barrier. Our investigations point out non-trivial aspects of Peltier cooling which include an inevitable trade-off between the cooling power and the coefficient of performance, the coefficient of performance being high at a low voltage bias and subsequently deteriorating with increasing voltage bias. We point out that there is an optimum energy barrier height for nanowire Peltier coolers at which the cooling performance is optimized. However, for bulk Peltier coolers, the cooling performance is enhanced with the height of the energy filtering barrier. Exploring further, we point out that a degradation in cooling performance with respect to bulk is inevitable as a single moded nanowire transitions to a multi-moded one. The results discussed here can provide theoretical insights for optimal design of nano Peltier coolers. * aniket@iitbhilai.ac.in † bm@ee.iitb.ac.in arXiv:1803.09290v1 [physics.app-ph]

Embedding nanostructures within a bulk matrix is an important practical approach towards the electronic engineering of high performance thermoelectric systems. For power generation applications, it ideally combines the efficiency benefit offered by low dimensional systems along with the high power output advantage offered by bulk systems. In this work, we uncover a few crucial details about how to embed nanowires and nanoflakes in a bulk matrix so that an overall advantage over pure bulk may be achieved. First and foremost, we point out that a performance degradation with respect to bulk is inevitable as the nanostructure transitions to being multi moded. It is then shown that a nano embedded system of suitable cross-section offers a power density advantage over a wide range of efficiencies at higher packing fractions, and this range gradually narrows down to the high efficiency regime, as the packing fraction is reduced. Finally, we introduce a metric -the advantage factor, to elucidate quantitatively, the enhancement in the power density offered via nano-embedding at a given efficiency. In the end, we explore the maximum effective width of nano-embedding which serves as a reference in designing generators in the efficiency range of interest.