Abstract
We report a theoretical analysis of the cooling effect due to field emission from n-type PbTe, a typical thermoelectric material. We show that, by calculating the average energies of field and replacement electrons, the energy exchange in field emission from n-type PbTe always produces cooling. The resultant heat loss leads to cooling of up to a few tenths of an electron volt per field emitted electron. For n-type PbTe, the Nottingham energy exchange in field emission can be comparable to or greater than the Peltier coefficient.
Original language | English |
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Journal | Applied Physics Letters |
Volume | 98 |
Issue number | 24 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 13 Jun 2011 |