PHGN-471 Fall-2011
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Course Information
Instructor: Eric Toberer
Research Assistant: Aaron Martinez
Students: Kyle Conrad and Michael Dixon
Project Title: Predicting the electronic behavior of thermoelectric materials via the Boltzmann transport equation
Objective
Understanding electronic transport in semiconductors materials is critical for the development of advanced thermoelectric materials of energy harvesting. To date, modeling thermoelectric materials typically involves applying solutions to the Boltzmann transport equation within the limit of a single parabolic band. This senior design project will consider the effect of non parabolic bands, multiple bands, and inter-band scattering on the predicted properties of thermoelectric materials.
The goal of this project is to use the advanced transport expressions to determine an optimal thermoelectric band structure and develop guidelines for the selection of thermoelectric materials.
Transport Theory
Electrical Current
