  The flow of a thermoelectric current through a semiconductor of submicron
dimensions is analyzed. The rate of surface relaxation of the energy is assumed
to be much higher than the rate of electron-electron collisions. Under these
conditions, it is incorrect to describe the electron gas by means of a
Maxwellian distribution and thus to describe the thermoelectric effects in
terms of an electron temperature and a chemical potential. A theory is derived
for these effects. This theory does not include the latter parameters and is
based on a non-Maxwellian distribution which is spatially nonuniform in terms
of energy.
