title: Field-effect modulation of Seebeck coefficient in single PbSe nanowires.
abstract: In this Letter, we present a novel strategy to control the thermoelectric properties of individual PbSe nanowires. Using a field-effect gated device, we were able to tune the Seebeck coefficient of single PbSe nanowires from 64 to 193 microV x K(-1). This direct electrical field control of sigma and S suggests a powerful strategy for optimizing ZT in thermoelectric devices. These results represent the first demonstration of field-effect modulation of the thermoelectric figure of merit in a single semiconductor nanowire. This novel strategy for thermoelectric property modulation could prove especially important in optimizing the thermoelectric properties of semiconductors where reproducible doping is difficult to achieve.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720, USA.
authors.forename: Wenjie
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.forename: Allon I
authors.initials: AI
authors.lastname: Hochbaum
authors.forename: Melissa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fardy
authors.forename: Oded
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Rabin
authors.forename: Minjuan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Peidong
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Yang