scholarly journals Design of Nano-Structured Micro-Thermoelectric Generator: Load Resistance and Inflections in the Efficiency

Entropy ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 224
Author(s):  
Carlos Badillo-Ruiz ◽  
Miguel Olivares-Robles ◽  
Jose Chanona-Perez
Keyword(s):  
Thermoelectric Materials ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Load Resistance ◽  
Structure Type ◽  
Temperature Dependent ◽  
Temperature Ranges ◽  
Operation Control ◽  
Micro Thermoelectric Generator ◽  
Nanostructured Thermoelectric Materials

In recent years the interest for the harvest of energy with micro thermoelectric generators ( μ TEG) has increased, due to its advantages compared to technologies that use fossil fuels. There are three ways to improve the performance of the device, by modifying its structure, type of material and operation control. In this study, the role of the load resistance R L on the performance of a μ TEG with nanostructured materials is investigated. The interaction of the load resistance with the thermoelements exhibits interesting features, arising from the coupling of the temperature-dependent electrical and thermal transport properties at different temperature ranges and the architecture of nanostructured thermoelectric materials. This coupling results in inflections on the efficiency, i.e., maximum and minimum values of the efficiency at higher temperatures, 600–900 K. We show the explicit dependence of the performance of the μ TEG in terms of the load resistance and discuss the underlying physics. The unusual features of the efficiency of nanostructured thermoelectric materials are a result of the behavior of the power factor and the nonequilibrium properties of the system. We also analyze the effect of the geometric shape of the thermoelements on the device. We determine the performance of the μ TEG, evaluating the generation power and its efficiency. The results show that the efficiency of the device can decrease or increase depending on the value of R L , while the power decreases with an increase of the load resistance.

Introduction to geomicrobiology

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
David L. Kirchman
Keyword(s):  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Solid Phase ◽  
Direct Reduction ◽  
Iron Oxidation ◽  
Mineral Dissolution ◽  
Precipitation Process ◽  
Soluble Ions ◽  
Chemolithoautotrophic Bacteria ◽  
The Impact

Geomicrobiology, the marriage of geology and microbiology, is about the impact of microbes on Earth materials in terrestrial systems and sediments. Many geomicrobiological processes occur over long timescales. Even the slow growth and low activity of microbes, however, have big effects when added up over millennia. After reviewing the basics of bacteria–surface interactions, the chapter moves on to discussing biomineralization, which is the microbially mediated formation of solid minerals from soluble ions. The role of microbes can vary from merely providing passive surfaces for mineral formation, to active control of the entire precipitation process. The formation of carbonate-containing minerals by coccolithophorids and other marine organisms is especially important because of the role of these minerals in the carbon cycle. Iron minerals can be formed by chemolithoautotrophic bacteria, which gain a small amount of energy from iron oxidation. Similarly, manganese-rich minerals are formed during manganese oxidation, although how this reaction benefits microbes is unclear. These minerals and others give geologists and geomicrobiologists clues about early life on Earth. In addition to forming minerals, microbes help to dissolve them, a process called weathering. Microbes contribute to weathering and mineral dissolution through several mechanisms: production of protons (acidity) or hydroxides that dissolve minerals; production of ligands that chelate metals in minerals thereby breaking up the solid phase; and direct reduction of mineral-bound metals to more soluble forms. The chapter ends with some comments about the role of microbes in degrading oil and other fossil fuels.

Energy Markets and Trading

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Mares
Keyword(s):  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Adjustment Costs ◽  
Institutional Context ◽  
Energy Markets ◽  
Energy Resources ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
The Social ◽  
Impact Risk

This chapter discusses the role of energy in economic development, the transformation of energy markets, trade in energy resources themselves, and the geopolitical dynamics that result. The transformation of energy markets and their expansion via trade can help or hinder development, depending on the processes behind them and how stakeholders interact. The availability of renewable, climate-friendly sources of energy, domestically and internationally, means that there is no inherent trade-off between economic growth and the use of fossil fuels. The existence of economic, political, social, and geopolitical adjustment costs means that the expansion of international energy markets to incorporate alternatives to oil and coal is a complex balance of environmental trade-offs with no solutions completely free of negative impact risk. An understanding of the supply of and demand for energy must incorporate the institutional context within which they occur, as well as the social and political dynamics of their setting.

scholarly journals Study and Assessment of Defect and Trap Effects on the Current Capabilities of a 4H-SiC-Based Power MOSFET

Electronics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 735
Author(s):  
Fortunato Pezzimenti ◽  
Hichem Bencherif ◽  
Giuseppe De Martino ◽  
Lakhdar Dehimi ◽  
Riccardo Carotenuto ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Drain Current ◽  
Oxide Semiconductor ◽  
Temperature Dependent ◽  
Channel Mobility ◽  
Blocking Voltage ◽  
Current Voltage ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Temperature Ranges ◽  
Joint Contribution ◽  
State Resistance

A numerical simulation study accounting for trap and defect effects on the current-voltage characteristics of a 4H-SiC-based power metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET) is performed in a wide range of temperatures and bias conditions. In particular, the most penalizing native defects in the starting substrate (i.e., EH6/7 and Z1/2) as well as the fixed oxide trap concentration and the density of states (DoS) at the 4H-SiC/SiO2 interface are carefully taken into account. The temperature-dependent physics of the interface traps are considered in detail. Scattering phenomena related to the joint contribution of defects and traps shift the MOSFET threshold voltage, reduce the channel mobility, and penalize the device current capabilities. However, while the MOSFET on-state resistance (RON) tends to increase with scattering centers, the sensitivity of the drain current to the temperature decreases especially when the device is operating at a high gate voltage (VGS). Assuming the temperature ranges from 300 K to 573 K, RON is about 2.5 MΩ·µm2 for VGS > 16 V with a percentage variation ΔRON lower than 20%. The device is rated to perform a blocking voltage of 650 V.

scholarly journals Tetragonal–Cubic Phase Transition and Low-Field Dielectric Properties of CH3NH3PbI3 Crystals

Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (15) ◽  
pp. 4215
Author(s):  
Roxana E. Patru ◽  
Hamidreza Khassaf ◽  
Iuliana Pasuk ◽  
Mihaela Botea ◽  
Lucian Trupina ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Dielectric Properties ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Cubic Phase ◽  
Relaxation Processes ◽  
Temperature Dependent ◽  
Thermally Activated ◽  
Low Field ◽  
Conduction Mechanisms ◽  
Temperature Ranges ◽  
Nyquist Plots

The frequency and temperature dependence of dielectric properties of CH3NH3PbI3 (MAPI) crystals have been studied and analyzed in connection with temperature-dependent structural studies. The obtained results bring arguments for the existence of ferroelectricity and aim to complete the current knowledge on the thermally activated conduction mechanisms, in dark equilibrium and in the presence of a small external a.c. electric field. The study correlates the frequency-dispersive dielectric spectra with the conduction mechanisms and their relaxation processes, as well as with the different transport regimes indicated by the Nyquist plots. The different energy barriers revealed by the impedance spectroscopy highlight the dominant transport mechanisms in different frequency and temperature ranges, being associated with the bulk of the grains, their boundaries, and/or the electrodes’ interfaces.

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