Thermoelectricity in atom-sized junctions at room temperatures

Area of Science:

• Condensed matter physics
• Materials science
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Atomic and molecular junctions are promising thermoelectric materials utilizing quantum confinement.
• Electron and heat transport in these nanoscale systems are highly sensitive to atomic configurations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To characterize geometry-sensitive thermoelectricity in atom-sized junctions at room temperature.
• To investigate the relationship between junction conductance and thermoelectric properties.

Main Methods:

• Simultaneous measurement of electrical conductance and thermoelectric power in gold nanocontacts down to single-atom size.
• Analysis of quantum confinement effects on thermovoltage.

Main Results:

• Observed junction conductance-dependent thermoelectric voltage oscillations with a period of 2e(2)/h.
• Detected quantum suppression of thermovoltage fluctuations in fully-transparent contacts.
• Geometry-sensitive thermoelectricity and quantum confinement effects were statistically observed.

Conclusions:

• Atomic and molecular junctions exhibit geometry-sensitive thermoelectricity at the nanoscale.
• The findings provide a foundation for developing low-dimensional thermoelectric building blocks using various nanomaterials.
• The demonstrated method offers a platform for exploring quantum effects in thermoelectric transport.