Related papers: A new comparison between solid-state thermionics a…
Advances in solid-state device design now allow the spectrum of transmitted electrons in thermionic and thermoelectric devices to be engineered in ways that were not previously possible. Here we show that the shape of the electron energy…
Solid-state thermionic power generators are an alternative to thermoelectric modules. In this manuscript, we develop an analytical model to investigate the performance of these generators in the non-linear regime. We identify dimensionless…
We study the physical processes at work at the interface of two thermoelectric generators (TEGs) thermally and electrically connected in series. We show and explain how these processes impact on the system's performance: the derivation of…
Thermoelectric devices are heat engines, which operate as generators or refrigerators using the conduction electrons as a working fluid. The thermoelectric heat-to-work conversion efficiency has always been typically quite low, but much…
We present experimental evidence of a thermoelectric effect at the interface between two liquid metals. Using superimposed layers of mercury and gallium in a cylindrical vessel operating at room temperature, we provide a direct measurement…
Considering a system composed of two different thermoelectric modules electrically and thermally connected in parallel, we demonstrate that the inhomogeneities of the thermoelectric properties of the materials may cause the appearance of an…
Thermoelectricity is the direct conversion of temperature gradient to electric voltage, and vice-versa. There are several potential applications of thermoelectricity, ranging from clean noiseless cooling, to waste-power harvesting in…
The tremendous amount of wasted heat from solar radiation and industry dissipation has motivated the development of thermoelectric concepts that directly convert heat into electricity. The main challenge in practical applications for…
Improvement of thermoelectric systems in terms of performance and range of applications relies on progress in materials science and optimization of device operation. In this chapter, we focuse on optimization by taking into account the…
We study quantum transport through two-terminal nanoscale devices in contact with two particle reservoirs at different temperatures and chemical potentials. We discuss the general expressions controlling the electric charge current, heat…
The flow of a thermoelectric current through a semiconductor of submicron dimensions is analyzed. The rate of surface relaxation of the energy is assumed to be much higher than the rate of electron-electron collisions. Under these…
Solid-state thermoelectric devices are currently used in applications ranging from thermocouple sensors to power generators in satellites, to portable air-conditioners and refrigerators. With the ever-rising demand throughout the world for…
In this paper we investigate the effect of strong electronic interactions on the thermoelectric properties of a simple generic system, consisting of a single correlated layer sandwiched between two metallic leads. Results will be given for…
Conventional thermionic power generators and refrigerators utilize a barrier in the direction of transport to selectively transmit high-energy electrons. Here we show that the energy spectrum of electrons transmitted in this way is not…
Solid-state heat-to-electrical power converters are thermodynamic engines that use fundamental particles, such as electrons or photons, as working fluids. Virtually all commercially available devices are thermoelectric generators, in which…
Thermoelectric devices convert temperature gradients into electrical power and vice versa, thus enabling energy scavenging from waste heat, sensing and cooling. Yet, many of these attractive applications are hindered by the limited…
Using the contemporary thermodynamic equations of elastic solids leads to contradictions with the fundamental statements of thermodynamics. Two examples are presented to expose the inconsistencies. In example one the internal energy between…
For a circuit made of thermodynamic devices in stationary nonequilibrium, we determine the mean currents (of energy, matter, charge, etc) exchanged with external reservoirs driving the circuit out of equilibrium. Starting from the…
Theoretical analysis of the effect of thermoelectric phenomena on the relation of effective electrical and thermal conductivity in the macroscopically inhomogeneous media is carried out. Plane-layered structures, two-dimensional self-dual…
Following up on the recently published circuit theory for thermodynamic devices, we consider networks of Thermo-Electric Converters (TECs) in stationary non-equilibrium. Assuming constant thermoelectric properties, the integration over a…