Thermoelectric Micro / Nano Generators, Volume 1: Fundamental Physics, Materials and Measurements

This book explores a key technology regarding the importance of connections via an Internet of Things network and how this helps us to easily communicate with others and gather information. Namely, what would happen if this suddenly became unavailable due to a shortage of power or electricity? Using thermoelectric generators is a viable solution as they use the heat around us to generate the much-needed electricity for our technological needs.

This first volume explores the computational and data-driven development of these thermoelectric generators, as well as the use of various abundant materials such as copper and silver chalcogenides and nanocarbons. It also offers reviews on universal property enhancement principles and the case of strongly correlated oxides, and goes on to explore the metrology of the thermal properties of thermoelectric generators, detailing methods of how to measure the absolute Seebeck coefficient using the Thomson effect and the thermal diffusivity of thin films using the ultrafast laser flash method.

Hiroyuki Akinaga is the Principal Research Manager at the Device Technology Research Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Japan.

Atsuko Kosuga is an associate professor at Osaka Metropolitan University, Japan.

Takao Mori is a Deputy Director of WPI-MANA at the National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS) and is also a professor at the Graduate School of Pure and Applied Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Japan.

Gustavo Ardila is an associate professor at Grenoble Alpes University and a researcher at IMEP – LaHC, France.