Thermoelectrics: Design and Materials

The text of this book is divided into two parts, with the first part comprising eight chapters that cover basic thermodynamic concepts and definitions, design of thermoelectric power-generation devices, and specific applications. The first chapter begins with a brief historical introduction to thermoelectrics, followed by an overview of thermoelectric phenomena.

The next three chapters delve specifically into thermoelectric devices, with chapters on power generation, refrigeration, and optimization of design of thermoelectric devices, including heat dissipation. This is followed by an in-depth investigation of specific formalism of the thermodynamics with exact and numerical solutions to heat flow through a device. Thermal and electrical contact issues and modeling of thermoelectric devices are then covered. Finally, specific applications of thermoelectric power generation and refrigeration are provided. The content is nicely developed, considering the large amount of material presented. The author provides appropriate references for the material covered and for further exploration of the subject matter. References include up-to-date work as well as original work and the main reference books for the field.

The second part covers the last eight chapters, where the author develops the physics required to understand basic transport phenomena in materials, which is invaluable in understanding fundamental transport in thermoelectric materials. As is typically done in solid-state physics courses, the author begins with a chapter on crystal structure followed by chapters on electrons, band theory, and phonons. A chapter on quantum confinement is also included in this section, as well as a chapter on bulk and nanowire silicon, before ending with a chapter that begins with transport equations and finishes with the thermoelectric properties of specific materials that continue to be of interest as thermoelectric materials.

The text mostly takes a how-to approach throughout; the author introduces concepts that students can use in solving the examples. Many of the examples are essential for a proper understanding of the material. The exercises extend this approach and allow the student to more fully develop an understanding of the material. The figures and tables are useful.

The second part of the book does not provide much depth in any of its subjects because of its ambitious breadth. The basic features of solid-state physics are covered; however, there are a number of other excellent texts on solid-state and materials physics. It may have been best to shorten this part of the text while expanding the first part to include more derivations and examples.

This book is well written with up-to-date examples. It will be useful as a textbook for a course on thermoelectrics for advanced undergraduates and first-year graduate students in engineering. The text has been tested, as the author has taught the course several times and has compiled the material based on this experience. As someone who has been involved with research on new materials for thermoelectrics applications for more than two decades, as well as incorporated certain aspects of the field into undergraduate and graduate courses in materials physics, I found the text to be interesting. Thermoelectrics is a “field with comprehensive applications” involving “multiple interdisciplinary fields,” as the author indicates.