Journal
JOURNAL OF ELECTRONIC MATERIALS
Volume 39, Issue 9, Pages 1897-1901Publisher
SPRINGER
DOI: 10.1007/s11664-009-1060-4
Keywords
Thermoelectric; generator; performance index; figure of merit; Z
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When the electrical conductivity, sigma, thermal conductivity, lambda, and thermopower, S, of a material are all assumed to be constant over the temperature range of interest, then the well-known thermoelectric (TE) figure of merit, Z = sigma S (2)/lambda, arises as part of the derivation of conversion efficiency in a TE generator. However, there are an infinite number of parameter sets (sigma, lambda, S) that yield any given Z. So, are they truly equivalent? This paper reviews the historical basis for Z as a metric for TE quality and discusses results of simulations on three systems having different parameter sets but the same Z. The three systems exhibit different power generation capabilities, illustrating that Z is not sufficient to specify the likely performance of a TE material in a system. Instead, a systems analysis is required that incorporates, at a minimum, source and sink temperatures and thermal resistances.
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