arXiv · 1111.1303
Thermopower of a 2D electron gas in suspended AlGaAs/GaAs heterostructures
Abstract
We present thermopower measurements on a high electron mobility two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) in a thin suspended membrane.We show that the small dimension of the membrane substantially reduces the thermal conductivity compared to bulk material so that it is possible to establish a strong thermal gradient along the 2DEG even at a distance of few micrometers. We find that the zero-field thermopower is significantly affected by the micro patterning. In contrast to 2DEGs incorporated in a bulk material, the diffusion contribution to the thermopower stays dominant up to a temperature of 7 K until the phonon-drag becomes strong and governs the run of the thermopower. We also find that the coupling between electrons and phonons in the phonon-drag regime is due to screened deformation potentials, in contrast to piezoelectric coupling found with bulk phonons.
Explore related subjects
Keep this discovery
M. Schmidt, G. Schneider, Ch. Heyn, A. Stemmann, W. Hansen. 2011-11-05. Thermopower of a 2D electron gas in suspended AlGaAs/GaAs heterostructures. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-011-1826-3
Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.