A University of Wisconsin-Madison research team has developed a new method for using nanoscale silicon that could improve devices that convert thermal energy into electrical energy.

The team, led by Max Lagally, Erwin W. Mueller Professor and Bascom Professor of Surface Science, published its findings in the March 24 issue of the journal ACS Nano.

Thermoelectric devices can use electricity to cool or, conversely, convert heat to electricity. To improve efficiency in tiny thermoelectric devices, researchers build superlattices of alternating thin layers of two different semiconductor materials, called heterojunctions. Charges in multilayer heterojunction wires travel through a periodic electric field that influences their motion; however, it is difficult to create modulation large enough to be effective with traditional heterojunctions, Lagally says.

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