A further comparison of solid-state thermionic and thermoelectric refrigeration

We show that the expressions for current and heat current calculated via (the non-linearized) ballistic and diffusive transport formalisms reduce to the same form for solid-state devices one electron mean free path in length. The materials parameters for thermionic and thermoelectric devices are als...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Humphrey, T.E., O'Dwyer, M.F., Shakouri, A.
Format: Conference Proceeding
Language:English
Subjects:
Bismuth
Difference equations
Electrons
Nonlinear equations
Refrigeration
Solid state circuits
Tellurium
Temperature
Thermoelectric devices
Thermoelectricity
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Summary:We show that the expressions for current and heat current calculated via (the non-linearized) ballistic and diffusive transport formalisms reduce to the same form for solid-state devices one electron mean free path in length. The materials parameters for thermionic and thermoelectric devices are also shown to be equal, rather than differing by a multiplicative constant. We derive a simple transport equation that includes both ballistic and diffusive contributions to the current, and, as an example, use this to calculate the maximum temperature difference obtainable for a piece of Bi/sub 2/Te/sub 3/ as a function of its length, from less than an electron mean-free path to much greater than a mean-free path. Finally we briefly discuss similarities and differences between thermionic and thermoelectric devices in the regime where device length is of the order of a mean-free path length.
ISSN:1094-2734
DOI:10.1109/ICT.2005.1519921