Study of the Quantum Magneto-Thermoelectric Effect in the Two-Dimensional Compositional Superlattice GaAs/AlGaAs under the influence of an Electromagnetic Wave by Using the Quantum Kinetic Equation

The quantum magneto-thermoelectric effect in a two-dimensional compositional superlattice under the influence of an electromagnetic wave (EMW) in two cases is investigated. Two cases of the electron scattering mechanism are considered: the electron-acoustic phonon scattering and electron-optical phonon scattering. Analytical expressions for the quantum Ettingshausen coefficient (EC), the thermopower tensor, the thermoelectric tensor and the kinetic tensor are obtained by using a quantum kinetic equation. These expressions are numerically solved for the two-dimensional compositional superlattice GaAs/AlGaAs and the results are discussed. The results show that in the case of electron-acoustic phonon scattering, the Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations appear when we examine the dependences of the quantum EC, the thermopower tensor and the thermoelectric tensor on the magnetic field. In the case of electron-optical phonon scattering, resonance peaks that satisfy the condition of the inter-subband magneto-phonon resonance appear. In the two cases, the superlattice period (a parameter specific to the material) strongly affects the quantum magneto-thermoelectric effect. When the superlattice period is small, quantum EC oscillations (in the case of electron-acoustic phonon interaction) and quantum EC resonance peaks (in the case of electron-optical phonon interaction) appear. However, when the superlattice period is large, these oscillations and resonance peaks are not observed. Especially, the influence of electromagnetic waves on the quantum magneto-thermoelectric effect is also clarified. The quantum theory of the magneto-thermoelectric effect has been studied from low temperature to high temperature. This overcomes the limitations of the Boltzmann kinetic equation which was studied at high temperature. The results are new and can serve as a basis for further development of the theory of quantum magneto-thermoelectric effects in low-dimensional semiconductor systems.