Reports: G10
46498-G10 Exploring Improved Petroleum Utilization Via Nanoscale Thermal Engineering of Thermoelectric Materials
The completion of our two year PRF starter grant has seen solidification of our technique for measuring thermal and thermoelectric transport in deposited thin films, as well as development of techniques for growth of amorphous semiconductors and preparation of nanostructures. The micromachined thermal platform that we designed in order to accomplish these challenging measurements is an effective tool, and the methods for its use (including a means to grow the sample only on properly selected areas of the micromachined structure) are now routine.
In last year’s report we anticipated that the bulk of the next year’s effort would focus on growth and detailed characterization of amorphous silicon alloy thin films, and their investigation as potential thermoelectric materials. Though we have grown and characterized a number of pure amorphous silicon films, technical challenges delayed our implementation of alloy growth capabilities until January of 2010. Thanks in large part to PRF funding, we are now in an excellent position to explore these materials, and will continue to do so with support from other sponsors.
We have been successful in our preliminary efforts to adapt the micromachined thermal platforms in order to measure arrays of submicron wires, as well as in our efforts to design smaller, more sensitive platforms for continued improvement in our ability to measure thermal properties of nanoscale systems.
As detailed in the supporting documents, funding from PRF has supported research staff, (including graduate and undergraduate researchers), travel to conferences, laboratory equipment and supplies. Results from our first year of support have enabled one publication in a peer-reviewed journal (Journal of Applied Physics, 105 043501 (2009)), contributed presentations at the APS March Meeting in 2008 and 2009 (two talks were presented), two contributed posters at the joint meeting of the APS Four Corners and Texas Section meeting in 2008, an invited talk at the joint meeting of the APS 4CS and Texas Sections in 2008, and invited seminar or colloquium presentations at Colorado State University (Physics in 2007 and Mechanical Engineering in 2009), the University of Colorado at Boulder, the University of Wyoming, the State University of New York at Stony Brook, and the University of Texas at Dallas.
