The best current values for ZT are approximately 1, which is insufficient for many desired applications. If materials with larger values of ZT can be found the range of applications for thermoelectric materials in cooling and power generation devices will be greatly enhanced. Experimental configuration for the measurement of thermopower inside a diamond anvil cell.
View is through the top diamond.
A small sample on the order of 500 microns long has two thermocouples placed across it. A thermal gradient is induced with an infrared laser. The thermocouples measure the thermoelectric voltage generated by the temperature gradient and the magnitude of the temperature gradient. The thermopower is the quotient of these two quantities.