Thermoelectric refrigerator based on asymmetric surfaces of a magnetic topological insulator

Thermoelectric (TE) refrigeration such as Peltier cooler enables a unique opportunity in electric energy to directly convert thermal energy. Here, we propose a TE module with both refrigeration and power generation modes by utilizing asymmetric surfaces of a magnetic topological insulator (quantum anomalous Hall insulator) with a periodic array of hollows filled with two di ff erent dielectrics. Based on the Boltzmann transport theory, we show that its e ffi ciency, i.e., the dimensionless figure of merit ZT exceeds 1 in the low-temperature regime below 300 K. The proposed device could be utilized as a heat management device that requires precise temperature control in small-scale cooling.

热电（TE）制冷，比如珀耳帖冷却器，为电能直接转换为热能提供了独特的机会。在此，我们提出一种具有制冷和发电两种模式的热电模块，它利用磁性拓扑绝缘体（量子反常霍尔绝缘体）的不对称表面，该表面具有周期性排列的空洞，空洞中填充两种不同的电介质。基于玻尔兹曼输运理论，我们表明其效率，即无量纲优值ZT在低于300 K的低温区域超过1。所提出的器件可作为一种热管理器件，用于小规模制冷中需要精确温度控制的情况。