Natural response of thermoelectric materials and devices

Abstract

The research aims to introduce the theory of the natural response of electrical circuits to studying thermoelectricity and the characterization of thermoelectric devices and materials. New equations were found to calculate the thermal resistance of the contacts Rcold and Rhot, the thermal conductance K0, and the figure of merit ZT. Furthermore, it permits determining characteristic time constants τ0, τ1, τ2, and relaxation times and calculating the thermoelectric capacitances related to the device, material, and thermal contacts. Also, the characteristic angular frequencies are predicted ω0, ω1and, ω2. The described theory satisfies Newton’s law of cooling, Luttinger’s thermal transport coefficients theory, and the first and second-order electric circuit’s behavior. Additionally, it makes available the prediction of the transport coefficients and the characterization in situ. Like Harman’s method, these parameters can be measured simultaneously on the same device or sample.