Optimal performance of three-terminal nanowire heat engine based on one-dimensional ballistic conductors

Based on one-dimensional (1D) ballistic conductors, a model of three-terminal nanowire heat engines is proposed in this paper. With the help of Landauer formula, the expressions of the charge and energy currents flowing from two electron reservoirs are derived, and then the output power and efficiency of the heat engine are obtained. Next, in the linear response regime an explicit analytic analysis for the charge and heat currents, and the maximum output power and the corresponding efficiency is presented. Finally, the performance characteristic and optimal performance of the nanowire heat engine is investigated in the nonlinear response regime by numerical calculation. (paper)