Effect of inelastic scattering of hot electrons on thermionic cooling in a single-barrier structure

One of the important problems in thermionics using layered structures is the inelastic scattering of hot electrons in the electrodes and in the barrier region. Scattering in these systems is mainly via the electron-phonon interaction, or indirectly via the electron-electron interaction. In semiconductor heterostructures at room temperature, the LO-phonon plays a crucial role in thermalising electrons. In this work we study the effect of electron-phonon scattering on thermionic cooling in a single-barrier structure. Because of the asymmetry of the barrier under a bias, a larger fraction of the total energy loss will be dissipated in the hot electrode. As a result, we find that the theoretical thermal efficiency can increase due to limited electron-phonon scattering.