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Recently, quasi-one-dimensional van der Waals crystal Ta2PdS6 has been reported as a promising thermoelectric material with an extraordinarily high power factor. However, element doping to tune the thermoelectric properties has not been studied yet. Here, we systematically investigated the effect of Se doping on the phase composition, charge transport properties and thermoelectric performance of Se-doped Ta2Pd(S1−xSex)6 (x = 0, 0.02, 0.05, and 0.07) polycrystalline bulk materials. Upon doping Se at the S sites to increase the carrier concentration and mobility, the electrical conductivity of Ta2Pd(S0.93Se0.07)6 is dramatically enhanced, while the S is slightly reduced, yielding a significantly improved power factor compared to that of pristine Ta2PdS6. Consequently, Ta2Pd(S0.93Se0.07)6 exhibits a peak ZT of 0.29 at 700 K when the doping content x = 0.07, which is more than twice that of pristine Ta2PdS6. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With advancements in chip technology, the number of cores in modern commercial processors continues to rise, leading to increased complexity in interconnects and on-chip networks. This complexity, however, exposes significant security vulnerabilities, primarily in the form of side-channel and covert-channel exploits. Unlike other microarchitectural side-channel attacks, those leveraging on-chip interconnects utilize unique characteristics, allowing attackers to develop novel methods that can bypass existing effective defenses. In this paper, we present a comprehensive survey of current side-channel and covert-channel attacks based on processor-on-chip interconnects. We categorize these attacks into three types: contention-based, distance-based, and layout-based, according to the specific interconnect characteristics they exploit, and discuss corresponding countermeasures for each. Finally, we provide an outlook on future development trends in processor interconnect side channels. This survey is the first to specifically focus on interconnect-based side channels in processors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metallic barrier layer is a key component in thermoelectric (TE) devices, but it is rarely investigated for the recently discovered inorganic ductile TE materials. In this work, we demonstrate that tungsten (W) is the excellent metallic barrier layer for Ag2S1−xSex ductile thermoelectric materials. The phase composition, microstructure, adhesive strength, and interfacial contact resistivity (ρC) of the W/Ag2S1−xSex joint have been systematically investigated. The sputtered W film has high adhesive strength and little interdiffusion/reaction with Ag2S1−xSex. The ρC decreases with increasing the Se content, which can be understood by the Thermionic-field Emission model. This work would guide the development of high-performance flexible TE devices based on ductile TE materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The discovery of ductile Ag2(S, Se, Te) materials opens a new avenue toward high‐performance flexible/hetero‐shaped thermoelectrics. Specifically, the cubic‐structured materials are quite attractive by combining remarkable plasticity, decent thermoelectric figure of merit (zT), and no phase transition above room temperature. However, such materials are quite few and the understanding is inadequate on their mechanical and thermoelectric properties. Enlightened by the high‐entropy principles, a series of pseudo‐ternary Ag2S‐Ag2Se‐Ag2Te alloys is designed and comprehensive diagrams of composition‐structure‐plasticity‐zT are compiled. Subsequently, the compositional region for the cubic phase is outlined. As a high‐entropy example featuring with anion‐site alloying and disordered Ag ions, Ag2‐xS1/3Se1/3Te1/3 materials exhibit impressively large elongations of 60–97%, ultralow lattice thermal conductivities of ≈0.2 W m−1 K−1, and decent zT values of 0.45 at 300 K, 0.8 at 460 K. The materials can be readily rolled into thin foils, showing excellent flexibility. Finally, a six‐leg in‐plane device is fabricated, achieving an output voltage of 13.6 mV, a maximal power of 12.8 µW, and a power density of 14.3 W m−2 under the temperature difference of 30 K, much higher than the organic counterparts. This study largely enriches the members of cubic ductile inorganic materials for the applications in flexible and hetero‐shaped energy and electronic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]