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▲ [16a-D411-2] Development of monolithic chalcogenide thermoelectric generators for energy harvesting applications
Keywords:Thermoelectric generator, Chalcogenides
An estimated 70% of the energy produced worldwide is released into the environment as waste heat. Recovering some of this energy by directly converting waste heat into electricity using thermoelectric generators (TEG) will have tremendous impact on reducing the global carbon footprint. Typical TEG use a π-type structure, where p- and n-type thermoelectric (TE) legs are bridged by a metal interconnect. As an improvement to this device architecture, monolithic multilayer TEGs were developed to remove the need for metal interconnects and the insulating spaces between TE legs, resulting in a more robust, densely packed TEG module [1,2].
In this work, we develop monolithic multilayer TEGs using chalcogenide TE materials consisting of non-toxic and earth abundant elements possessing TE performance near room temperature (RT) [3-5]. The monolithic TEGs were fabricated using a simple and low energy cost process of co-sintering thin layers of the p- and n-type TE layers with an insulating spacer partially inserted between each layer. Cu2+xSe, Ag2SxSe1-x and Ag2S were used as the p-, n-type and insulating materials respectively.
Our previous work showed modest power generation, where the high device resistance was limiting the maximum power output. We found that by optimizing the contact resistance between the TE materials and the metal electrodes, we can increase the power generation for a better performing TEG at RT conditions. These results show that this chalcogenide-based monolithic TEG can be a potential power source for small sensors and devices in various IoT applications.
In this work, we develop monolithic multilayer TEGs using chalcogenide TE materials consisting of non-toxic and earth abundant elements possessing TE performance near room temperature (RT) [3-5]. The monolithic TEGs were fabricated using a simple and low energy cost process of co-sintering thin layers of the p- and n-type TE layers with an insulating spacer partially inserted between each layer. Cu2+xSe, Ag2SxSe1-x and Ag2S were used as the p-, n-type and insulating materials respectively.
Our previous work showed modest power generation, where the high device resistance was limiting the maximum power output. We found that by optimizing the contact resistance between the TE materials and the metal electrodes, we can increase the power generation for a better performing TEG at RT conditions. These results show that this chalcogenide-based monolithic TEG can be a potential power source for small sensors and devices in various IoT applications.