Effective figure of merit increase at the large temperature drops

Abstract

Optimum configuration, assembling and commutation of the cells in a thermoelectric device have been investigated taking into account the temperature dependence of resistivity, thermal conductivity and Seebeck coefficient of the material operating at the large temperature drop. A solution is proposed which enables one to increase the effective figure of merit of the device as compared to the mean value of Z measured at the same temperature drop in a single wafer thermoelectric cell.