A planar thermoelectric power generator for integration in wearable microsystems
A technique for IC-compatible fabrication of a planar (in-plane) thermoelectric (TE) power generator using a thermopile composed of n-type bismuth telluride (Bi 2Te 3) and p-type antimony telluride (Sb 2Te 3) thin-films is presented. The research demonstrates that the thermal co-evaporation of bismu...
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Published in | Sensors and actuators. A. Physical. Vol. 161; no. 1; pp. 199 - 204 |
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Main Authors | , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Elsevier B.V
01.06.2010
|
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | A technique for IC-compatible fabrication of a planar (in-plane) thermoelectric (TE) power generator using a thermopile composed of n-type bismuth telluride (Bi
2Te
3) and p-type antimony telluride (Sb
2Te
3) thin-films is presented. The research demonstrates that the thermal co-evaporation of bismuth/antimony (Bi/Sb) and telluride (Te) is the most suitable deposition technique. The measurements showed TE performance properties of the deposited thin-films that are comparable to those reported for the same materials in the bulk form. The measurements showed absolute values of the Seebeck coefficient in the range 91–248
μV
K
−1, an electrical resistivity in the 7.6–39.1
μΩ
m range and a thermal conduction between 1.3 and 1.8
W
m
−1
K
−1. The best resulting figures-of-merit,
ZT, at room temperatures were 0.97 and 0.56 (equivalent to power-factors,
PF, of 4.87
×
10
−3 and 2.8
×
10
−3
W
K
−1
m
−2) for the Bi
2Te
3 and Sb
2Te
3 thin-films, respectively. The IC-compatibility and the dependence of the TE performance on technological details, such as photolithography and wet etching used for patterning the thin-films have also been investigated. The converter dimensions for best performance were analysed and a prototype of a planar TE power generator was fabricated. |
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Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
ISSN: | 0924-4247 1873-3069 |
DOI: | 10.1016/j.sna.2010.05.010 |