Optimal Performance Analysis of a Three-Terminal Thermoelectric Refrigerator with Ideal Tunneling Quantum Dots

The model of a three-terminal thermoelectric refrigerator with ideal tunneling quantum dots is established. It consists of a cavity connected to two quantum dots embedded between two electron reservoirs at different temperatures and chemical potentials. According to the Landauer formula the expressions for the heat current, the cooling rate and the coefficient of performance （COP） are derived analytically. The performance characteristic curves of the cooling rate versus the coefficient of performance are plotted with numerical calculation. The optimal regions of the cooling rate and the COP are determined. Moreover, we optimize the cooling rate and the COP with respect to the position of energy level of the right quantum dot, respectively. The influence of the width of energy level and the temperature ratio on performance of the three-terminal thermoelectric refrigerator is analyzed. Lastly, when the width of energy level is small enough, the optimal performance of the refrigerator is discussed in detail.

Annealing engineering induced high thermoelectric performance in Yb-filled CoSb_(3) skutterudites

The great pressure of energy shortage has made CoSb_(3) materials with excellent mechanical stability in the mid-temperature region favored for the integration of thermoelectric devices.However,their ex-cessive lattice thermal conductivity and poor Seebeck coefficient lead to low energy conversion effi-ciency.Filling Yb into the lattice void to optimize the band structure and regulate the chemical po-tential is an indispensable means for improving the thermoelectric properties of CoSb_(3)-based materials,while the phase structure and thermoelectric properties vary with the preparation process.This motivates the current work to focus on the influence of annealing temperature on the microstructure and thermoelectric properties of Yb-filled CoSb_(3).Experimental analysis and theoretical model eluci-dated that an increase in annealing temperature can optimize the Yb filling fraction,which simulta-neously manipulates the band structure as well as chemical potential,resulting in an excellent electrical property.Furthermore,the phase and microstructure characterization clarify that the annealing temperature can effectively affect the grain size.The complex grain boundary induced by grain refinement,more filled Yb atoms and precipitates strongly scatter wide-frequency phonons,significantly suppressing the lattice thermal conductivity.As a result,a superior dimensionless figure of merit(ZT)value of~1.33 at 823 K and an average ZTave of~0.9(323-823 K)were achieved in the Ybo.4Co4Sb12 sample annealed at 923 K,and the calculated conversion efficiency could reach~13%.This work pro-vides a unique paradigm to improve thermoelectrics in the filled CoSb_(3)-based skutterudites by annealing engineering.