Thermal conductivity and enhanced thermoelectric efficiency of composition-graded \(\text{Si}_c \text{Ge}_{1-c}\) alloys (Q2185801)

The paper discusses thermoelectric energy converter that is made of composition-graded material \(\text{Si}_c \text{Ge}_{1-c}\), whose stoichiometric variable \(c\) is space-dependent and may vary along the sample. Temperature gradient and electric current are applied along the sample, too, and the problem is to find out the conditions when the efficiency of this converter is maximal. The authors propose such mathematical model of thermoelectric process that reduces to Onsager-type relations. The hypothesis is stated that maximal converter efficiency corresponds to minimal rate of energy dissipation. Finally this dissipation rate is expressed as a rather simple function of three variables: the gradients of temperature and of \(c\) and the parameter \(c\) itself. It is shown that the function has a unique stationary point. Conditions under which this point provides a minimum to the function under consideration are obtained. The results are discussed due to three different temperatures of the cold side of the sample and due to two different sample lengths.