Large Thermoelectric Power Factor Enhancement Observed in InAs Nanowires

Abstract

We report the observation of a thermoelectric power factor in InAs nanowires that exceeds that predicted by a single-band bulk model by up to an order of magnitude at temperatures below about 20 K. We attribute this enhancement effect not to the long-predicted 1D subband effects but to quantum-dot-like states that form in electrostatically nonuniform nanowires as a result of interference between propagating states and 0D resonances.