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Semiconductor nanowires have demonstrated fascinating properties with application in a wide range of fields including energy and information technologies. In particular, increasing attention has been focused on Si and SiGe...

The thermoelectric performance of nanostructured low dimensional silicon and silicon-germanium has been functionally compared device-wise. The arrays of nanowires of both materials, grown by a VLS-CVD (Vapor-Liquid-Solid Chemical Vapor Deposition) method, have been monolithically integrated in a silicon micromachined structure in order to exploit the improved thermoelectric properties of nanostructured silicon-based materials. The device architecture helps to translate a vertically occurring temperature gradient into a lateral temperature difference across the nanowires. Such thermocouple is completed with a thin film metal leg in a unileg configuration. The device is operative on its own and can be largely replicated (and interconnected) using standard IC (Integrated Circuits) and MEMS (Micro-ElectroMechanical Systems) technologies. Despite SiGe nanowires devices show a lower Seebeck coefficient and a higher electrical resistance, they exhibit a much better performance leading to larger open circuit voltages and a larger overall power supply. This is possible due to the lower thermal conductance of the nanostructured SiGe ensemble that enables a much larger internal temperature difference for the same external thermal gradient. Indeed, power densities in the μW/cm2 could be obtained for such devices when resting on hot surfaces in the 50–200 °C range under natural convection even without the presence of a heat exchanger.

This chapter deals with heat transfer challenges in the microdomain. It focuses on practical issues regarding this matter when attempting the fabrication of small footprint thermoelectric generators (μTEGs). Thermoelectric devices are designed to bridge a heat source (e.g. hot surface) and a heat sink (e.g. ambient) assuring that a significant fraction of the available temperature difference is captured across the active thermoelectric materials. Coexistence of those contrasted temperatures in small devices is challenging. It requires careful decisions about the geometry and the intrinsic thermal properties of the materials involved. The geometrical challenges lead to micromachined architectures, which silicon technologies provide in a controlled way, but leading to fragile structures, too. In addition, extracting heat from small systems is problematic because of the high thermal resistance associated to heat exchanged by natural convection between the surrounding air and small bare surfaces. Forced convection or the application of a cold finger clearly shows the usefulness of assembling a heat exchanger in a way that is effective and compliant with the mechanical constraints of micromachined devices. Simulations and characterization of fabricated structures illustrate the effectiveness of this element integration and its impact on the trade-off between electrical and thermal behavior of the active materials in device performance.