Descriptions of devices with the efficiency of unity or more than
unity are met in the scientific and patent literature on thermoelectrics.
The examples of such descriptions have been examined and their analysis
in view of the thermodynamics laws have been given.
The object of discussion is to analyse the growth of maximum cooling
coefficient of N-cascade coolers due to the use of Bi-Te based materials
of n- and p-types with the optimal doping for each cascade. Such analysis
is carry out on the basis of optimal control theory methods which proved
to be the efficient means of designing Peltier cascade coolers. The results
of theoretical calculations are adequate for making the following conclusion.
When designing Bi-Te based cascade low-temperature batteries materials
must be used tha
The thermoelectric efficiencies of some organic semiconductors are
analyzed. It is stated that the values of efficiency are much smaller than
the values obtained for the most efficient inorganic materials. The model
of quasi-one-dimensional crystal with high thermoelectric efficiency is
proposed and discussed.
The characteristic peculiarity of submicron samples, submicron layers
in particular, is the surface energetic dissipation dominance in comparison
with volume one. This means that electron and phonon heat flows can be
varied by thermal boundary conditions change, the function of the volume
energetic electron-phonon interaction in generation of electron and phonon
temperature gradients is unimportant. This fact is rather urgent in thermoelectricity
because it makes possible to predict theoretically the increase of thermoelectric
figure of merit parameter. This report describes principal basis for tempera
