Reduction of heat leak in cryogenic system using Peltier current leads Original Research Article

Peltier current leads (PCLs) for cryogenic systems are investigated in regard to temperature dependence of thermoelectric materials. Due to the Peltier effect on the thermoelectric parts of the current lead, PCLs act as heat pumps. It is expected that PCLs will reduce the amount of heat leak from the room temperature side to the low temperature side of a cryogenic system. Six (three each for p and n type) hot-pressed BiTe samples for PCLs are selected to estimate PCL performance. Our experimental results and analyses indicate that PCLs show a capacity in the order of several hundred Amperes and as much as 20–30% reductions of heat leak.