This book is the first published report that investigates the small-signal dynamic behavior of thermoelectric devices.
Exact analysis of thermoelectric heat pumps and generators is difficult because these devices are described by differential equations that contain product-type nonlinearities. But since the dynamic behavior of these devices is of interest principally as a consequence of the requirement for control of the device, much useful information can be obtained by a small-signal analysis.
This approach permits the treatment of linear models that describe the small-signal dynamic behavior of the devices. Analysis of these models produces a nu,ber of small-signal transfer-functions that can be used either to compute the response of devices in the time-domain. The results of this analysis can also be used to evaluate can also be used to evaluate the quantitative effect of the materials and device parameters on the dynamic behavior of devices.