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[23a-C102-5] Development of monolithic thermoelectric generators using high
performance chalcogenide materials for ambient temperature
applications
Keywords:Thermoelectric generator, Thermoelectric materials
The generation of electricity from waste heat using thermoelectric (TE) materials is one of the cleanest forms of renewable energy. Typical commercial TE generators (TEG) use a π-type structure, where p- and n-type TE legs are bridged by a metal interconnect. As an improvement to this device architecture, a monolithic multilayer design was developed to remove the need for metal interconnects and the unnecessary empty spaces in between TE legs to get a robust, densely packed TEG [1].
In this work, we fabricate monolithic TEGs by co-sintering chalcogenide materials with exceptional near room temperature TE properties [2-4]. The TE devices were fabricated by co-sintering thin layers of p- and n- legs, with an insulating layer partially inserted between. Ag- and Cu- chalcogenide materials were used as the p-type, insulating spacer, and n-type materials.
The TEG structure was designed and optimized using finite element method (FEM) using the COMSOL Multiphysics software. The actual devices were fabricated using a low energy cost method, by assembling the different layers and co-sintering at temperatures below 373K with an applied uniaxial pressure of 200 MPa.
The structures of the TEG devices were characterized using SEM and EPMA, and the power generation were measured using a TEG device measurement setup [5]. The power output shows that these devices can be used as power sources for small sensors in various internet-of-things (IoT) applications.
[1] F. Hayashi, et al., Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 49, 096505 (2010).
[2] D. Byeon, et al., Nat. Commun. 10, 72 (2019).
[3] S. Singh, et al., J. Electron. Mater. 49, 2846 (2020).
[4] K. Hirata, et al., J. Electron. Mater. 49, 2895 (2020).
[5] Y. Peng, et al., J. Materiomics, 7, 665 (2021).
In this work, we fabricate monolithic TEGs by co-sintering chalcogenide materials with exceptional near room temperature TE properties [2-4]. The TE devices were fabricated by co-sintering thin layers of p- and n- legs, with an insulating layer partially inserted between. Ag- and Cu- chalcogenide materials were used as the p-type, insulating spacer, and n-type materials.
The TEG structure was designed and optimized using finite element method (FEM) using the COMSOL Multiphysics software. The actual devices were fabricated using a low energy cost method, by assembling the different layers and co-sintering at temperatures below 373K with an applied uniaxial pressure of 200 MPa.
The structures of the TEG devices were characterized using SEM and EPMA, and the power generation were measured using a TEG device measurement setup [5]. The power output shows that these devices can be used as power sources for small sensors in various internet-of-things (IoT) applications.
[1] F. Hayashi, et al., Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 49, 096505 (2010).
[2] D. Byeon, et al., Nat. Commun. 10, 72 (2019).
[3] S. Singh, et al., J. Electron. Mater. 49, 2846 (2020).
[4] K. Hirata, et al., J. Electron. Mater. 49, 2895 (2020).
[5] Y. Peng, et al., J. Materiomics, 7, 665 (2021).