Thermoelectric power of a two-dimensional metal/metal composite: a numerical approach

Abstract

Based on the theory of coupled transport of electricity and heat in metals, we present a numerical method allowing us to calculate the thermoelectric power (TEP) (Seebeck coefficient) of a two-dimensional metal/metal composite structure. Depending on the arrangement, the surface fraction and the geometry of the two components, the temperature, the potential and the thermoelectric current distributions are calculated within the structure. The apparent TEP is then deduced. In order to validate this numerical model, various metal/metal composite structures were experimented on. The data resulting from the numerical simulations proved to be in excellent agreement with the experimental results. This method of calculation contributes to a better understanding of TEP measurements when done for the characterization of multi-constituent materials. We show that it may also be applied to calculate the current distribution in inhomogeneous materials subject to a thermal gradient, and hence contribute to a better understanding of results obtained by the thermoelectric method with magnetic readout.