A transparent thermoelectric material requires not only high thermoelectric performance but also high optical transmittance. However, in transparent nanostructured thermoelectric materials, the nanostructure interface brings the trade-off relationship between thermal conductivity and optical transmittance. We propose an approach for the simultaneous control of thermal conductivity and optical transmittance in the epitaxial nanostructured films, where carriers can be smoothly transported. This is realized by the interface design based on the three strategies: (1) a large atomic mass difference at the heterointerface for low thermal conductivity; (2) heterointerface with almost the same refractive index and flat surface for high optical transmittance; and (3) epitaxial heterointerface for smooth carrier transport. We formed epitaxial ZnO/SnO2 multilayer films based on this design guideline. The multilayer films exhibit lower thermal conductivity and higher optical transmittance than an ever reported transparent nanostructured thermoelectric material. These results highlight that this design is promising to realize high-performance transparent nanostructured thermoelectric materials.
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Interface design of transparent thermoelectric epitaxial ZnO/SnO2 multilayer film for simultaneous realization of low thermal conductivity and high optical transmittance
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23 January 2023
Research Article|
January 26 2023
Interface design of transparent thermoelectric epitaxial ZnO/SnO2 multilayer film for simultaneous realization of low thermal conductivity and high optical transmittance

Takafumi Ishibe
;
Takafumi Ishibe
(Conceptualization, Formal analysis, Funding acquisition, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing)
1
Graduate School of Engineering Science, Osaka University
, 1-3 Machikaneyama-cho, Toyonaka, Osaka 560-8531, Japan
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Yuki Komatsubara
;
Yuki Komatsubara
(Data curation, Formal analysis)
1
Graduate School of Engineering Science, Osaka University
, 1-3 Machikaneyama-cho, Toyonaka, Osaka 560-8531, Japan
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Toranosuke Katayama;
Toranosuke Katayama
(Data curation, Formal analysis)
1
Graduate School of Engineering Science, Osaka University
, 1-3 Machikaneyama-cho, Toyonaka, Osaka 560-8531, Japan
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Yuichiro Yamashita
;
Yuichiro Yamashita
(Data curation)
2
National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology
, 1-1-1 Umezono, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8563, Japan
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Nobuyasu Naruse
;
Nobuyasu Naruse
(Investigation)
3
Department of Fundamental Bioscience, Shiga University of Medical Science
, Otsu, Shiga 520-2192, Japan
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Yutaka Mera
;
Yutaka Mera
(Investigation)
3
Department of Fundamental Bioscience, Shiga University of Medical Science
, Otsu, Shiga 520-2192, Japan
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Azusa N. Hattori
;
Azusa N. Hattori
(Resources)
4
SANKEN (The Institute of Scientific and Industrial Research), Osaka University
, 8-1 Mihogaoka, Ibaraki, Osaka 567-0047, Japan
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Hidekazu Tanaka
;
Hidekazu Tanaka
(Resources)
4
SANKEN (The Institute of Scientific and Industrial Research), Osaka University
, 8-1 Mihogaoka, Ibaraki, Osaka 567-0047, Japan
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Yoshiaki Nakamura
Yoshiaki Nakamura
a)
(Conceptualization, Funding acquisition, Writing – review & editing)
1
Graduate School of Engineering Science, Osaka University
, 1-3 Machikaneyama-cho, Toyonaka, Osaka 560-8531, Japan
a)Author to whom correspondence should be addressed: [email protected]
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Takafumi Ishibe
1
Yuki Komatsubara
1
Toranosuke Katayama
1
Yuichiro Yamashita
2
Nobuyasu Naruse
3
Yutaka Mera
3
Azusa N. Hattori
4
Hidekazu Tanaka
4
Yoshiaki Nakamura
1,a)
1
Graduate School of Engineering Science, Osaka University
, 1-3 Machikaneyama-cho, Toyonaka, Osaka 560-8531, Japan
2
National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology
, 1-1-1 Umezono, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8563, Japan
3
Department of Fundamental Bioscience, Shiga University of Medical Science
, Otsu, Shiga 520-2192, Japan
4
SANKEN (The Institute of Scientific and Industrial Research), Osaka University
, 8-1 Mihogaoka, Ibaraki, Osaka 567-0047, Japan
a)Author to whom correspondence should be addressed: [email protected]
Appl. Phys. Lett. 122, 041603 (2023)
Article history
Received:
September 08 2022
Accepted:
December 21 2022
Citation
Takafumi Ishibe, Yuki Komatsubara, Toranosuke Katayama, Yuichiro Yamashita, Nobuyasu Naruse, Yutaka Mera, Azusa N. Hattori, Hidekazu Tanaka, Yoshiaki Nakamura; Interface design of transparent thermoelectric epitaxial ZnO/SnO2 multilayer film for simultaneous realization of low thermal conductivity and high optical transmittance. Appl. Phys. Lett. 23 January 2023; 122 (4): 041603. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0124814
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