Reverse heat flow with Peltier-induced thermoinductive effect

Abstract

The concept of “thermal inductance” expands the options of thermal circuits design. However, the inductive component is the only missing components in thermal circuits unlike their electromagnetic counterparts. Herein, we report an electrically controllable reverse heat flow, in which heat flows from a low-temperature side to a high-temperature side locally and temporarily in a single material by imposing thermal inertia and ac current. This effect can be regarded as an equivalent of the “thermoinductive” effect induced by the Peltier effect. We derive the exact solution indicating that this reverse heat flow occurs universally in solid-state systems, and that it is considerably enhanced by thermoelectric properties. A local cooling of 25 mK is demonstrated in (Bi,Sb)₂Te₃, which is explained by our exact solution. This effect can be directly applicable to the potential fabrication of “thermoinductor” in thermal circuits.

Most electrical components have an equivalent thermal-based counterpart however some devices, such as an inductor, can be more difficult to realise than others. Here, the authors demonstrate a Peltier-induced thermoinductive effect theoretically and experimentally demonstrating a circuit with an electrically controllable reverse heat flow.