Thermally-induced current injection across an npn structure

We present our first results from a new model for analyzing the current and voltage relations of semiconductor thermoelectric structures where the associated spatial structures are on the order of a scattering length. The model derives from a formal solution to the transport equation in the relaxation time approximation, and leads to a nonlocal dependence of current on the temperature, potential and Fermi level. We report here results from this model applied to an idealized model for the emitter region of an n-type thermal diode structure with a p-type separation layer. Our results in the case of thermal diode structures are consistent with a forward current injection mechanism (second-order thermionic emission), where the p-type separation layer now prevents the shorting out of a Fermi level discontinuity.