Introduction to Thermoelectricity L1.3: Theory - Seebeck Coefficient

Table of Contents:
00:00 L1.3 Seebeck Coefficient
00:15 Outline
00:21 Basic equations (electronic component)
00:42 Electrical current due to temperature differences
02:54 Electrical current due to temperature gradients
04:30 Seebeck coefficient
05:37 Sign of the Seebeck coefficient
06:43 Simple physical picture
08:32 Seebeck coefficient
09:21 Seebeck coefficient vs. Fermi level
10:29 Seebeck coefficient: N-type vs. P-type
11:06 Seebeck coefficient vs. Fermi level
11:55 Basic equations (electronic component)

This video is part of the short course Introduction to Thermoelectricity by Mark Lundstrom and Ali Shakouri. The course can be found on nanoHUB.org at https://nanohub.org/courses/ite .

With potentially transformative possibilities of thermoelectric technologies have long been understood and are frequently noted in the 3000+ papers published each year. Over the past two decades, the thermoelectric material figure of merit has been increased substantially, but the promise of widely used commercial thermoelectric technologies has not been realized. Fresh perspectives are needed.

This course consists of two modules, The modules in this course are designed to introduce semiconductor scientists and engineers to thermoelectric science and technology. The first module (by Lundstrom) is on the theory of thermoelectricity with the goal of understanding the thermoelectric transport coefficients. The second module (by Shakouri) covers thermoelectric devices and systems focusing on issues that must be addressed to realize the promise of thermoelectrics.

The background assumed for this short course is a basic understanding of semiconductor fundamentals (a course on this can be found at https://nanohub.org/courses/psf ), and the goal is to help those new to the field to follow the current research literature and to contribute new ideas that address the roadblocks that remain.

Upon completion of this short course, those who are interested in a more in depth look at thermoelectricity can visit the nanoHUB-U course Thermoelectricity: From Atoms to Systems (https://nanohub.org/courses/teas)