Micro-thermoelectric devices with large output power fabricated on a multi-channel glass template

Abstract

Micro-TE (thermoelectric) devices have received increasing attention because of their promising applications as energy resources for micro-systems. However, poor performance and complicated fabrication process has limited their application. This work demonstrates that micro-TEGs (thermoelectric generators) with a large output power of 218 μW and output voltage of 34.7 mV under a larger temperature difference of 98 K can be fabricated using electro-deposition based on the multi-channel glass template, which is much higher than that of other reported work. The micro-TEGs consisted of four pairs of thermocouples. Each thermocouple was composited by about 200 p-type legs of Sb2Te3 and 200 n-type legs of Bi2Te3 60 μm in diameter and 200 μm in height, and were well filled in the glass template by impulse voltage deposition. The length of the TE legs can be adjusted by increasing the length of the channel, which led the large temperature difference and high output power and output voltage. Additionally, the glass template which shows low thermal conductivity and is electrically insulating, can be retained after being filled with TE materials, which simplifies the device fabrication process and also helps to enhance the rigidity of the TE modules. Moreover, this work also reveals that the output voltage can be further improved by increasing the numbers of thermocouples via decreasing the numbers of legs in each thermocouple.

Electrodeposition of Bi-Te Thin Films on Silicon Wafer and Micro-Column Arrays on Microporous Glass Template

“…This not only complicates the preparation process, but also severely impairs the mechanical properties of the device. Thus the template must have low thermal conductivity, high insulation, easy processing, and, for large-scale integration micro-TE devices, it must be amenable to dense TE micro-columns [40].…”

Thermoelectric Characterization Platform for Electrochemically Deposited Materials

“…TE devices can be operated either as TE generator or as Peltier cooler 1–3. Among them, micro‐TE devices (µTEDs) received considerable attraction because of many prospective applications such as thermal management,4–6 cooling of power electronics,7,8 the Internet of Things devices,9 and body‐powered wearable electronics 10,11. Consequently, there is a demand for the characterization of TE materials with small geometrical dimension, like nano‐ and micro‐scaled thin or thick films 12–14.…”

“…TE devices can be operated either as TE generator or as Peltier cooler. [1][2][3] Among them, micro-TE devices (µTEDs) received considerable attraction because of many prospective applications such as thermal management, [4][5][6] cooling of power electronics, [7,8] the Internet of There are different methods to determine the zT value of nanoand micro-scaled films experimentally. One common approach is to measure the single transport coefficients in separate setups, often done using different samples.…”

“…Consequently, there is a demand for the characterization of TE materials with small geometrical dimension, like nano‐ and micro‐scaled thin or thick films 12–14. Compared with nano‐scaled TE films, micro‐scaled TE films are more desirable for µTEDs due to the low electrical resistance and high attainable densities of heat flux and cooling power 8. The increasing interest in micro‐scaled TE materials motivated the development of different characterization techniques dedicated to determine the figure of merit zT , defined by the Seebeck coefficient α, electrical conductivity σ, thermal conductivity λ, and absolute temperature T .…”

Geometric Study of Polymer Embedded Micro Thermoelectric Cooler with Optimized Contact Resistance

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any moving parts and are thus maintenance free, and also environmentfriendly. [1][2][3][4] They are used for the thermal management of parts of electric circuits [5] or optoelectronic devices, [6] cooling of power electronics, [7] powering devices for the internet-of-things, [8] and body-powered wearable electronics. [9][10][11] With increased reliability and accurate temperature control, they could also be effective replacements for macroscopic thermoelectric devices (TEDs) in medical applications, [12][13][14] for example DNA replication [15] or heating and cooling experiments for treating lowgrade tissue injuries.

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