A comprehensive approach to the analysis of nano-thermionic convertors through particle tracing

We propose a particle tracing approach to analyze thermionic energy convertors. This model can address the new challenges engendered by the introduction of nanostructures in the field of thermionics, such as the presence of strong temperature gradients, in addition to issues related to the application of magnetic fields, temporal behavior and the presence of ions. The particles are traced through coupling Poisson´s equation with the Lagrange equations of motion at different time intervals. Poisson´s equation is solved with three-dimensional Dirichlet Green functions through the introduction of fictitious charges, significantly reducing the computational cost of the calculations. This model was applied to examine some key features of thermionic convertors such as their temporal behavior and their output current-voltage characteristics.