Thermoelectric micro converters for cooling and energy scavenging systems

• Author(s): Gonçalves, L. M. ; Silva, A. F. ; Alpuim, P. ; Rocha, R. P. ; Correia, J. H. ; Couto, Carlos ; Silva, H. R.
• Date: 2007
• Persistent ID: http://hdl.handle.net/1822/8390
• Origin: RepositóriUM - Universidade do Minho
• Subject(s): Energy scavenging; Peltier
• Document Type: Article
• Language: English

Description

This paper describes the fabrication process of thermoelectric microconverters, based on n-type bismuth telluride (Bi2Te3) and p-type antimony telluride (Sb2Te3) thin films. Materials are fabricated by thermal co-evaporation with thermoelectric properties comparable to those reported for the same materials in bulk form (used in conventional macro-scale Peltier modules). Absolute value of Seebeck coefficient in the range 150-250 μVK-1 and in-plane electrical resistivity of 7-15 μΩm were obtained. Influence of fabrication parameters on thermoelectric properties is reported. The films were then patterned by photolithography and wet-etching techniques, using HNO3/HCl based etchants. Influence of composition and concentration of etchants in the process is reported. A microcooler was fabricated and analysed by infrared thermal image