Thermoelectric conversion device, and cooling method and power generating method using the device

摘要

The present invention provides a thermoelectric conversion device having high thermoelectric conversion performance. In this device, electrodes are arranged so that electric current flows in an interlayer direction of a layered substance, unlike the arrangements derived from common knowledge in the art. In the thermoelectric conversion device according to the present invention, a thermoelectric-conversion film is obtained through epitaxial growth and formed by arranging an electrically conducting layer and an electrically insulating layer alternately; the electrically conducting layer has an octahedral crystal structure in which a transition metal atom M is positioned at its center and oxygen atoms are positioned at its vertexes; and the electrically insulating layer includes a metal element or a crystalline metal oxide. The c axis of the layered substance made of the electrically conducting layer and the electrically insulating layer is parallel to an in-plane direction of the substrate, and a pair of electrodes are arranged so that electric current flows along the c axis.