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Thermoelectric Module For Low Temperature Applications

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 March 2011

Sangeeta Lal ,
Sim Loo ,
Duck-Young Chung ,
Theodora Kyratsi ,
Mercouri G. Kanatzidis ,
Charles Cauchy  and
Timothy P. Hogan
Sangeeta Lal
Affiliation:
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI
Sim Loo
Affiliation:
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI
Duck-Young Chung
Affiliation:
Chemistry Department, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI
Theodora Kyratsi
Affiliation:
Chemistry Department, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI
Mercouri G. Kanatzidis
Affiliation:
Chemistry Department, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI
Charles Cauchy
Affiliation:
Tellurex Corporation, Traverse City, MI
Timothy P. Hogan
Affiliation:
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI
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Abstract

The possibility of a prototype thermoelectric cooling device for operation near liquid nitrogen temperatures has been explored. In these devices, the figure of merit involves a combination of the properties of the two branches of the module. Here, we investigate the fabrication of a module with a new low temperature material, CsBi4Te6 (p-type), and the best known low temperature n-type materials Bi85Sb15. Transport measurements for each of these materials show high performance at low temperatures. Known values for the figure of merit Zmax of CsBi4Te6 is 3.5 × 10−3 K−1 at 225K and for Bi85Sb15 is 6.5 × 10−3 K−1 at 77K. At 100K these values drop to 2.0×10−3 K−1 for CsBi4Te6 and 6.0×10−3 K−1 for Bi85Sb15. Theoretical simulations based on these data show a cooling of δT = 12K at 100K, which is almost three times the efficiency of a Bi2Te3 module at that temperature. We present transport measurements of elements used in the fabrication of a low temperature thermoelectric module and properties of the resulting module.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 691: Symposium G – Thermoelectric Materials 2001--Research and Applications , 2001 , G6.2
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2002

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References

REFERENCES

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