Part I: Fundamentals (6 weeks)

In the first part of the course we introduce the theory to understand heat transfer and energy conversion at the nanoscale.

1. Energy states

• From classical to quantum harmonic oscillators: material waves and energy quantization (wave-particle duality)
• Energy states in solids (Band structure of crystals, Phonons, Density of states)
• Fundamentals of statistical thermodynamics

2. Energy Transport

• Energy transfer by waves (reflection/transmission and tunneling, energy and momentum of electromagnetic fields)
• Particle description of transport processes (Fourier's law, Newton's shear stress and Ohm's law)

Part II: Size Effects (3 weeks)

In the second part of the course we study the effect of device miniaturization on heat transfer and energy conversion.

3. Classical Size Effects

• Transport parallel and perpendicular to boundaries
• From diffusive to ballistic transport

4. Energy Conversion:

• Carrier scattering, generation and recombination
• Coupled transport and non-equilibrium processes

Part III: Nanostructures for Energy Conversion Devices (5 weeks)

In the third part of the course, starting from recent literature results, we analyze the functioning of selected state-of-the art systems and emerging concepts for energy conversion devices.

5. Thermoelectric devices & materials

6. Nanophotonic Engineering

• radiative heat transfer
• plasmonic photocatalysis
• thermoplasmonics

7. Liquids and Interfaces

• size effects on phase change
• electrokinetic effects in nanochannels
• hydrovoltaic devices