Dependence of the Thermoelectric Figure of Merit on Energy Bandwidth

Abstract

The thermoelectric figure of merit Tz of a semiconductor is calculated as a function of the width of the conduction band. It is found that Tz approaches zero as the bandwidth goes to zero. The existence of an optimum bandwidth is established; however, the magnitude cannot be ascertained on the basis of the simple model used here.

A Simplified Engineering Design Equation for a Thermoelectric Heating-Cooling Device

“…A paper by R. C. Miller et al (14) theoretically analyzes the dependence of the figure of merit (Z) of thermoelectric material on the energy bandwidth.…”