Saturday 06 September 2025
A team of researchers has made a significant breakthrough in the field of quantum thermoelectricity, demonstrating a purely quantum mechanism for generating bipolar thermoelectric effects in superconducting tunnel junctions. This achievement has important implications for the development of more efficient and compact thermal management systems.
The researchers’ approach involves creating an S-I-S’ tunnel junction with asymmetric energy gaps, which is then coupled to a low-temperature electromagnetic environment. In this setup, the junction is kept in thermal equilibrium, but the environment is cooled to a temperature that is significantly lower than the junction’s own temperature. This creates a situation where the junction is constantly emitting and absorbing photons, leading to an imbalance between energy emission and absorption.
This imbalance gives rise to a bipolar thermoelectric effect, where the junction generates both heat and electricity in response to a temperature difference between the junction and its environment. The researchers found that this effect can be controlled by adjusting the strength of the coupling between the junction and the environment, as well as the frequency of the electromagnetic radiation.
One of the key advantages of this approach is that it allows for the generation of thermoelectric effects at much lower temperatures than traditional methods. This makes it potentially useful for applications such as cooling small electronic devices or generating power in space missions where traditional thermal management systems are impractical.
The researchers also found that the bipolar thermoelectric effect can be controlled by adjusting the strength of the coupling between the junction and the environment, as well as the frequency of the electromagnetic radiation. This allows for fine-tuning of the system to optimize its performance for specific applications.
In addition to its potential applications, this research has important implications for our understanding of quantum thermodynamics. The discovery of a purely quantum mechanism for generating bipolar thermoelectric effects challenges our current understanding of how thermal energy is converted into electrical energy in quantum systems.
Overall, this breakthrough has significant implications for the development of more efficient and compact thermal management systems, as well as our understanding of quantum thermodynamics. As researchers continue to explore the potential applications of this technology, we can expect to see new and innovative uses emerge in a wide range of fields.
The team’s findings have been published in a recent paper, which provides further details on their experimental setup and results. The research has important implications for the development of more efficient and compact thermal management systems, as well as our understanding of quantum thermodynamics.
Cite this article: “Quantum Breakthrough in Thermoelectricity”, The Science Archive, 2025.
Quantum Thermoelectricity, Superconducting Tunnel Junctions, Bipolar Thermoelectric Effect, Thermal Management Systems, Quantum Thermodynamics, Electromagnetic Radiation, Energy Gaps, Asymmetric Energy Gaps, Low-Temperature Environment, Thermoe
