A.F. Ioffe and origin of modern semiconductor thermoelectric energy conversion

A.F. Ioffe was a physicist and organizer of new directions of physical studies in post-revolutionary Russia. His interest was in the development of technical applications of basic research. His ideas expressed in 1931 concerned a great practical role of semiconductors in the future, in particular, for thermoelectric energy conversion. The first investigations of thermoelectric properties of semiconductors were carried out at the Physical-Technical Institute. Topics covered included; thermoelectric generators and coolers and the theory of energy applications of semiconductors.