The effective thermoelectric properties of layered heterogeneous medium

JOURNAL OF APPLIED PHYSICS 111, 013510 (2012)

The effective thermoelectric behavior of layered heterogeneous medium is studied, with the

distribution of temperature, electric potential, and heat flux solved rigorously from the governing

equations, and the effective thermoelectric properties defined through an equivalency principle. It is

discovered that the effective thermoelectric figure of merit of a composite medium can be higher than

all of its constituents even in the absence of size and interface effects, in contrast to previous studies.

This points toward a new route for high figure of merit thermoelectric materials.

http://jap.aip.org/resource/1/japiau/v111/i1/p013510_s1