The Need

Thermoelectric technologies offer a compelling route for waste heat recovery, solid-state cooling, and power generation, but their adoption remains limited by inherently low efficiency. Conventional materials are constrained by tradeoffs between electrical conductivity, thermopower, and thermal conductivity, resulting in modest performance with limited scalability. Current devices typically achieve low fractions of theoretical efficiency, restricting their practical deployment across industrial, automotive, and microelectronic systems where higher-performance, compact, and tunable thermal energy conversion solutions are needed.

The Technology

OSU engineers and physicists have developed thermoelectric devices leveraging topological semimetals with unique electronic structures that enable enhanced energy conversion. The platform exploits both longitudinal (Seebeck) and transverse (Nernst) effects, with optional magnetic-field tuning to amplify performance. These materials support efficient charge and heat transport even at low carrier energies, enabling stronger thermoelectric response without conventional tradeoffs. Device architectures can be configured as generators, coolers, or sensors, including thin-film and hybrid systems compatible with integrated electronics.

Commercial Applications

• Waste heat recovery systems for industrial processes or automotive exhaust
• Solid-state cooling and thermal management in electronics and data centers
• High-sensitivity temperature or heat flux sensors
• Compact power generation for space, aerospace, or remote sensing platforms

Benefits/Advantages

• Higher efficiency potential: Access to thermoelectric performance beyond conventional material limits via topological electronic states
• Magnetic-field tunability: Adjustable performance enables optimization across operating conditions
• Robust material performance: Reduced sensitivity to defects compared to traditional semiconductors
• Simplified device architectures: Transverse designs can eliminate p–n junction complexity, improving manufacturability