ABSTRACT
Energy harvesting will be an increasingly important strategy for the US Department of Defense to address concerns regarding future power and energy. Thermoelectric power is of interest for these roles to support operational, intelligence, and tactical applications because thermoelectric devices can be highly covert, man-portable, ruggedized, and long-lived with very low amortized cost. Because of these desirable attributes, thermoelectric power generation is poised to significantly impact army energy needs by improving the fuel utilization on vehicles and by offering a compelling alternative to batteries. Thin-film heterostructures such as superlattices were proposed as an attractive route to obtain improved thermoelectric materials properties. One of the most critical capabilities in thermoelectric materials research for energy harvesting is accurate measurement of the three principal thermoelectric properties: α, ρ, and κ. There are rich opportunities to improve military capabilities through energy harvesting using thermoelectrics.
