Phonon bridge effect in superlattices of thermoelectric tinisn/hfnisn with controlled interface intermixing
Heinz, Sven (Johannes Gutenberg University. Institute of Physics)
Chávez Ángel, Emigdio (Institut Català de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia)
Trapp, Maximilian (Darmstadt University of Technology. Institute of Applied Geosciences)
Kleebe, Hans-Joachim (Institut Català de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia)
Jakob, Gerhard (Johannes Gutenberg Universität Mainz. Graduate School of Excellence Materials Science)

Date:	2020
Abstract:	The implementation of thermal barriers in thermoelectric materials improves their power conversion rates effectively. For this purpose, material boundaries are utilized and manipulated to affect phonon transmissivity. Specifically, interface intermixing and topography represents a useful but complex parameter for thermal transport modification. This study investigates epitaxial thin film multilayers, so called superlattices (SL), of TiNiSn/HfNiSn, both with pristine and purposefully deteriorated interfaces. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffractometry are used to characterize their structural properties in detail. A differential 3ω-method probes their thermal resistivity. The thermal resistivity reaches a maximum for an intermediate interface quality and decreases again for higher boundary layer intermixing. For boundaries with the lowest interface quality, the interface thermal resistance is reduced by 23% compared to a pristine SL. While an uptake of diffuse scattering likely explains the initial deterioration of thermal transport, we propose a phonon bridge interpretation for the lowered thermal resistivity of the interfaces beyond a critical intermixing. In this picture, the locally reduced acoustic contrast of the less defined boundary acts as a mediator that promotes phonon transition.
Grants:	Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad SEV-2017-0706
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, la comunicació pública de l'obra i la creació d'obres derivades, fins i tot amb finalitats comercials, sempre i quan es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Subject:	Interface ; Thermal conductivity ; Superlattice ; Intermixing ; Coherent phonon ; Roughness ; 3 omega ; 3 omega method ; Magnetron sputtering ; Half-Heusler ; Thermoelectric ; Thin film ; TiNiSn ; HfNiSn ; Thermal boundary resistance
Published in:	Nanomaterials, Vol. 10, issue 6 (June 2020) , art. 1239, ISSN 2079-4991

DOI: 10.3390/nano10061239
PMID: 32630581

12 p, 5.0 MB

The record appears in these collections:
Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Experimental sciences > Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2)
Articles > Research articles
Articles > Published articles