Distributed and localized cooling with thermoelectrics

Snyder, G. Jeffrey; LeBlanc, Saniya; Crane, Doug; Pangborn, Herschel C.; Forest, Chris E.; Rattner, Alex; Borgsmiller, Leah; Priya, Shashank

doi:10.1016/j.joule.2021.02.011

Cited by 48 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…Generally, the structure of TECs is based on a conventional TE device (TED), [ 7 ] which is composed of thermoelectric n–p materials connected by conductive metals and covered by substrates on their two sides, [ 8 ] as illustrated in the center of Figure . With the rapid development of physics, chemical, materials science, and technology, both TE materials and TECs have exhibited significant progress.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Thermoelectric Coolers: Progress, Challenges, and Opportunities

et al. 2022

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Owing to the free of noise, mechanical component, working fluid, and chemical reaction, thermoelectric cooling is regarded as a suitable solution to address the greenhouse emission for the broad cooling scenarios. Here, the significant progress of state‐of‐the‐art thermoelectric coolers is comprehensively summarized and the related aspects of materials, fundamental design, heat sinks, and structures, are overviewed. Particularly, the usage of thermoelectric coolers in smart city, greenhouse, and personal and chip thermal management is highlighted. In the end, current challenges and future opportunities for further improvement of designs, performance, and applications of thermoelectric coolers are pointed out.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Thermoelectric Coolers: Progress, Challenges, and Opportunities

et al. 2022

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“…Thermoelectric (TE) devices enable the direct interconversion between thermal and electrical energy, showing promising applications in distributed cooling and waste‐heat harvesting while being portable, reliable, durable, and environmentally friendly. [ 1–5 ] However, the TE energy conversion efficiency is still constrained by the figure of merit ( ZT ) of materials and the contact resistance of devices. [ 6 ] The ZT is determined by

Z T = S^{2} σ T / κ

, where S , σ, κ, and T are the Seebeck coefficient, electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and absolute temperature, respectively.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Boron Strengthened GeTe‐Based Alloys for Robust Thermoelectric Devices with High Output Power Density

Bai

et al. 2021

Advanced Energy Materials

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High‐performance thermoelectric (TE) devices require not only a high figure of merit (ZT) but also mechanical strength and thermal stability. Here, a simultaneous enhancement of ZT as well as mechanical properties is obtained in GeTe‐based alloys by adding boron. This material is then assembled with n‐type CoSb3 skutterudite into TE modules. The improved ZT values result from the increase in charge carrier mobility due to the reduced interfacial barrier height. A peak ZT of 2.2 at 773 K can be achieved in Ge0.84Pb0.1Sb0.06TeB0.07, which shows a negligible change in the coefficient of thermal expansion upon the phase transition from the rhombohedral to the cubic phase, ensuring good thermal stability of the device. Resulting from the boron‐induced grain refinement and dispersion strengthening, the average compressive strength and Vickers hardness of Ge0.9Sb0.1TeB0.07 can be enhanced to ≈227 MPa and ≈202 Hv, respectively. The improved mechanical properties facilitate the assembly of devices and lower the interfacial contact resistance. As a synergy of increased ZT and mechanical strength, a high output power density of ≈1.76 W cm−2 at ΔT = 425 K and an energy conversion efficiency of 7.4% at ΔT = 477 K can be achieved in the TE modules.

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“…Nowadays, thermoelectric devices have been widely used in optical communication and photoelectricity, medical instruments, car seats and fridges, and many other systems for thermal management ( Basu and Singh, 2021 ; DiSalvo, 1999 ; Savage, 2009 ). Clearly, one common feature of the aforementioned applications is that the cooling/heating capacities are generally less than 100 W, which is mainly restricted by the cost and low COPs of TE modules under a large temperature gradient ( Snyder et al., 2021 ; Vining, 2009 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%