Seebeck effect, Peltier effect and Thomson effect found the basis of thermoelectric theory of
thermoelectric coolers (TEC). In the view of the history of TEC (picture below), it has roughly gone through three stages of development.
Physical picture of TEC
The first stage refers to
thermoelectric generation and thermoelectric cooling studied by Seebeck and Peltier respectively. Because of bad thermoelectric performances of metallic materials at that time, the efficiency of energy conversion was very low and there was no practical value. Therefore, thermoelectric effect can’t be used in practical application.
The second stage is from the beginning of 1950s to 1980s, by using semiconductor materials, it was found that semiconductor materials have good thermoelectric performances, which has improved the efficiency of thermoelectric effect a lot. So thermoelectric generation and thermoelectric cooling entered into engineering practice.
The third stage is from 1980s to now, the main purpose is to improve the thermoelectric performance of TEC and further developthermoelectric cooling application areas.
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