Title :
Nonequilibrium electron-phonon interaction in thin-film thermionic structures
Author :
Zeng, Taofang ; Chen, Gang
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Mech. & Aerosp. Eng., California Univ., Los Angeles, CA, USA
fDate :
Aug. 29 1999-Sept. 2 1999
Abstract :
The thermionic cooling processes in double heterojunction structures are investigated in this paper by studying the energy conversion between electrons and phonons based upon the hot electron approximation. An analytical model that includes the nonequilibrium energy exchange between electrons and phonons is developed to predict the performance of double heterojunction thermionic cooling devices. Approximate analytical solutions for the electron and phonon temperature distributions in the double heterojunction structure are obtained. The efficiency, the net cooling power, and the maximum temperature difference are calculated for different device and material parameters.
Keywords :
electron-phonon interactions; semiconductor heterojunctions; temperature distribution; thermionic emission; double heterojunction structures; efficiency; energy conversion; hot electron approximation; maximum temperature difference; net cooling power; nonequilibrium electron-phonon interaction; nonequilibrium energy exchange; thermionic cooling processes; thin-film thermionic structures; Analytical models; Charge carrier processes; Cooling; Electrons; Energy conversion; Energy exchange; Heterojunctions; Phonons; Temperature distribution; Transistors;
Conference_Titel :
Thermoelectrics, 1999. Eighteenth International Conference on
Conference_Location :
Baltimore, MD, USA
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-5451-6
DOI :
10.1109/ICT.1999.843458
