Optimal performance at arbitrary power of minimally nonlinear irreversible thermoelectric generators with broken time-reversal symmetry

Abstract

We investigate the performance at arbitrary power of minimally nonlinear irreversible thermoelectric generators (MNITGs) with broken time-reversal symmetry within linear irreversible thermodynamics, and the efficiency of MNITGs at arbitrary power is analytically derived. Furthermore, a universal bound on the efficiency of thermoelectric generators (TGs) with broken time-reversal symmetry and the arbitrary power is obtained. Some system-specific characteristics are discussed and uncovered. A large efficiency at arbitrary power can also be achieved via the cooperative mechanism between the system parameters. Our results indicate that the broken time-reversal symmetry provides the physically allowed degrees of freedom for tuning the performance of thermoelectric devices, and the physical trade-off region between the efficiency and the power output can also offer the appropriate space for optimizing the performance of TGs.