Abstract:To reduce consumption for ambient assisted living (AAL) applications, we propose the design and fabrication of flexible thin-film thermoelectric generators at a low manufacturing cost. The generators were fabricated using a combination of electrodeposition and transfer processes. N-type Bi 2 Te 3 films and p-type Sb 2 Te 3 films were formed on a stainless-steel substrate employing potentiostatic electrodeposition using a nitric acid-based bath, followed by a transfer process. Three types of flexible thin-film thermoelectric generators were fabricated. The open circuit voltage (V oc ) and maximum output power (P max ) were measured by applying a temperature difference between the ends of the generator. The thin-film generators obtained using thermoplastic sheets with epoxy resin exhibited a V oc that was tens of millivolts. In particular, the contact resistance of the thin-film generator decreased when silver paste was inserted at the junctions between the n-and p-type films. The most flexible thin-film generator fabricated in this study exhibited a P max of 10.4 nW at a temperature difference of 60 K. The current performance of the generators was too low, but we innovated a combination process to prepare them. It is expected to increase the performance by further decreasing the micro-cracks and contact resistance in the generators.

No abstract