Infrared and thermoelectric power generation in thin atomic layer deposited Nb-doped TiO2 films

Abstract

Infrared radiation is used to radiatively transfer heat to a nanometric power generator (NPG) device with a thermoelectric Nb-doped TiO2 film deposited by atomic layer deposition (ALD) as the active element, onto a borosilicate glass substrate. The linear rise of the produced voltage with respect to the temperature difference between the “hot” and “cold” junctions, typical of the Seebeck effect, is missing. The discovery of the violation of the Seebeck effect in NPG devices combined with the ability of ALD to tune thermoelectric thin film properties could be exploited to increase the efficiency of these devices for energy harvesting purposes.

Recent advances, design guidelines, and prospects of flexible organic/inorganic thermoelectric composites

“…[75][76][77][78] At present, the preparation of inorganic thermoelectric materials by ALD, including Bi 2 Te 3 , Sb 2 Te 3 , Bi 2 Se 3 , ZnO and TiO 2 , has been reported in the literature. [79][80][81][82] Because the ALD process can be conducted under steady voltage and low temperature, there are fewer restrictions on the substrate, and this technique may be highly competitive in the field of flexible material preparation [83][84][85] and in the incorporation of inorganic thermoelectric materials into textile materials to expand their use in wearable flexible thermoelectric materials. 86 Molecular layer deposition (MLD) is another technique similar to ALD that uses sequential, self-limiting reactions to deposit thin films in molecular units.…”