Fluctuation-dissipation in thermoelectric sensors

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • N. A.M. Tran - , McGill University (Author)
  • A. S. Dutt - , Chair of Metallic Materials and Metal Physics, Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research Dresden (Author)
  • N. B. Pulumati - , Chair of Metallic Materials and Metal Physics, Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research Dresden (Author)
  • H. Reith - , Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research Dresden (Author)
  • A. Hu - , McGill University (Author)
  • A. Dumont - , Université de Sherbrooke (Author)
  • K. Nielsch - , Chair of Metallic Materials and Metal Physics, Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research Dresden (Author)
  • A. M.S. Tremblay - , Université de Sherbrooke (Author)
  • G. Schierning - , Bielefeld University (Author)
  • B. Reulet - , Université de Sherbrooke (Author)
  • T. Szkopek - , McGill University (Author)

Abstract

Thermoelectric materials exhibit correlated transport of charge and heat. The Johnson-Nyquist noise formula 4k B T R for the spectral density of voltage fluctuations accounts for fluctuations associated solely with Ohmic dissipation. Applying the fluctuation-dissipation theorem, we generalize the Johnson-Nyquist formula for thermoelectrics, finding an enhanced voltage fluctuation spectral density 4k B T R(1 + Z D T) at frequencies below a thermal cut-off frequency f T, where Z D T is the dimensionless thermoelectric device figure of merit. The origin of the enhancement in voltage noise is thermoelectric coupling of temperature fluctuations. We use a wideband , integrated thermoelectric micro-device to experimentally confirm our findings. Measuring the Z D T enhanced voltage noise, we experimentally resolve temperature fluctuations with a root mean square amplitude of at a mean temperature of 295 K. We find that thermoelectric devices can be used for thermometry with sufficient resolution to measure the fundamental temperature fluctuations described by the fluctuation-dissipation theorem.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Article number26002
JournalEPL
Volume141
Issue number2
Publication statusPublished - Jan 2023
Peer-reviewedYes

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas