Enhanced Performance of Dispenser Printed MA n‑type Bi2Te3 Composite Thermoelectric Generators

This work presents performance advancements of dispenser printed composite thermoelectric materials and devices. Dispenser printed thick films allow for low-cost and scalable manufacturing of microscale energy harvesting devices. A maximum ZT value of 0.31 has been achieved for mechanically alloyed...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:ACS applied materials & interfaces 2012-11, Vol.4 (11), p.6117-6124
Main Authors: Madan, Deepa, Wang, Zuoqian, Chen, Alic, Juang, Rei-cheng, Keist, Jay, Wright, Paul K, Evans, Jim W
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bismuth - chemistry
Electric Conductivity
Electric Power Supplies
Equipment Design
Equipment Failure Analysis
Hot Temperature
Miniaturization
Tellurium - chemistry
Transducers
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Summary:This work presents performance advancements of dispenser printed composite thermoelectric materials and devices. Dispenser printed thick films allow for low-cost and scalable manufacturing of microscale energy harvesting devices. A maximum ZT value of 0.31 has been achieved for mechanically alloyed (MA) n-type Bi2Te3-epoxy composite films with 1 wt % Se cured at 350 °C. The enhancement of ZT is a result of increase in the electrical conductivity through the addition of Se, which ultimately lowers the sintering temperature (350 °C). A 62 single-leg thermoelectric generator (TEG) prototype with 5 mm ×700 μm × 120 μm printed element dimensions was fabricated on a custom designed polyimide substrate with thick metal contacts. The prototype device produced a power output of 25 μW at 0.23 mA current and 109 mV voltage for a temperature difference of 20 °C, which is sufficient for low power generation for autonomous microsystem applications.
ISSN:1944-8244
1944-8252
DOI:10.1021/am301759a