Trials for oxide photo-thermoelectrics

Abstract

Thermoelectrics is an energy conversion technology from heat into electricity, and vice versa, through the thermoelectric phenomena in solids, while photovoltaics is an energy conversion technology from solar photon energy into electricity using the photo-excitations in solids. We are trying to find a way to combine thermoelectrics with photovoltaics to establish a new method to generate renewable energy with high efficiency. In this article, we show two approaches for this purpose using oxide materials: thermoelectric energy conversion by photo-excited carriers and the thermoelectric power generation using a focused light as a heat source.