Mechanically manipulated in-plane electric currents and thermal control in piezoelectric semiconductor films

This study explores the new findings of in-plane mechanical forces on electric currents and thermal control in piezoelectric semiconductors. The thermo-electro-elastic theory is considered based on the thermo-piezoelectricity theory and drift–diffusion theory for semiconductors. A two-dimensional nonlinear model for in-plane deformations of piezoelectric semiconductor films is developed, where thermo-elastic, pyroelectric and thermoelectric couplings are involved. The newly developed nonlinear equations are directly solved based on the finite element method, while linearized equations derived from the nonlinear theory and corresponding analytical solutions are also obtained as a reference for validation. Our findings indicate that the in-plane mechanical forces exerted on piezoelectric semiconductors significantly influence both currents and thermal fluxes through piezoelectric coupling. Specifically, the angle of in-plane mechanical force relative to the c-axis significantly impacts the currents, with the potential to suppress, enhance or alter the direction, thereby affecting the temperature field. Based on these findings, an application simulation that focuses on mechanically induced current manipulation and thermal control is introduced and realized.