Physical processes in thermoelectric coolers

Abstract

A usage of the thermoelectric method of refrigeration is one of the best practical methods of cooling chips and other electronic components. The miniaturization of electronic elements requires the miniaturization of thermoelectric coolers for such electronics. Modern thermoelectric coolers may have a thickness of microns. Under these conditions, all transport regulations of thermoelectricity in semiconductors become incorrect. In the present paper a thermoelectric theory of microminiaturized thermoelectric coolers is proposed. The new nonlinear effects result in changing of all equations for heat and electric transport. Nonlinear analytical formulas for all kinetic coefficients and for thermoelectric figure of merit under such conditions have been derived. The theory shows that, in typical cases, the nonlinear effects could lead to an increase of the thermoelectric figure of merit and COP. Such a result is inconsistent with known experimental data.