Non-linear phonon Peltier effect in dissipative quantum dot systems

Sci Rep. 2018 Mar 26;8(1):5185. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-23402-6.

Abstract

Solid state thermoelectric cooling is based on the electronic Peltier effect, which cools via an electronic heat current in the absence of an applied temperature gradient. In this work, we demonstrate that equivalently, a phonon Peltier effect may arise in the non-linear thermoelectric transport regime of a dissipative quantum dot thermoelectric setup described via Anderson-Holstein model. This effect leads to an electron induced phonon heat current in the absence of a thermal gradient. Utilizing the modification of quasi-equilibrium phonon distribution via charge induced phonon accumulation, we show that in a special case the polarity of the phonon heat current can be reversed so that setup can dump heat into the hotter reservoirs. In further exploring possibilities that can arise from this effect, we propose a novel charge-induced phonon switching mechanism that may be incited via electrostatic gating.