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In the first significant breakthrough in the field in 40 years, RTI has developed a new thermoelectric material that is more than twice as efficient and 23,000 times faster than today's bulk technology, the existing state of the art. Devices made with this material are solid state and can be used for power conversion, heating, cooling, and precise temperature control. For instance, our devices can provide cooling of as much as 700 watts per cm2 under 58°F.
Our thin-film, superlattice, thermoelectric devices can enable fiber optic switches that are 100 times faster than today's thermo-optic technology and can more efficiently convert an automobile's waste heat into energy to electric power, allowing a variety of applications, including air conditioning the various sections of a car.
RTI's thermoelectric material offers benefits for possible military and commercial applications:
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No moving parts
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No refrigerants
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No lubricants
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No seals
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Quieter operation
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No emissions
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No vibrations
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Enhanced reliability.
A wide variety of applications are possible with this new material, including
RTI's thermoelectric technology emerged from a U.S. Department of Defense initiative in the early 1990s. The Office of Naval Research and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency have funded our thermoelectric work since 1993.
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