Thermionic junction devices utilizing phonon blocking

Electrothermal elements are used in various energy harvesters, coolers, and radiation detectors. The optimal operation of these elements relies on mastering two competing boundary conditions: the maximization of the electrothermal response and the blockade of lattice (phonon) thermal conduction. In...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science advances 2020-04, Vol.6 (15), p.eaax9191-eaax9191
Main Authors: Mykkänen, Emma, Lehtinen, Janne S, Grönberg, Leif, Shchepetov, Andrey, Timofeev, Andrey V, Gunnarsson, David, Kemppinen, Antti, Manninen, Antti J, Prunnila, Mika
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Applied Physics
Applied Sciences and Engineering
SciAdv r-articles
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Summary:Electrothermal elements are used in various energy harvesters, coolers, and radiation detectors. The optimal operation of these elements relies on mastering two competing boundary conditions: the maximization of the electrothermal response and the blockade of lattice (phonon) thermal conduction. In this work, we propose and demonstrate that efficient electrothermal operation and phonon blocking can be achieved in solid-state thermionic junctions, paving the way for new phonon-engineered high-efficiency refrigerators and sensors. Our experimental demonstration uses semiconductor-superconductor (Sm-S) junctions where the electrothermal response arises from the superconducting energy gap and the phonon blocking results from the acoustic transmission bottleneck at the junction. We demonstrate a cooling platform where a silicon chip, suspended only from the Sm-S junctions, is cooled by ~40% from the bath temperature. We also show how the observed effect can be used in radiation detectors and multistage electronic refrigerators suitable for cooling of quantum technology devices.
ISSN:2375-2548
2375-2548
DOI:10.1126/sciadv.aax9191