Modeling, simulation, fabrication, and characterization of a 10-μ W/cm2 class si-nanowire thermoelectric generator for IoT applications

  • Motohiro Tomita*
  • , Shunsuke Oba
  • , Yuya Himeda
  • , Ryo Yamato
  • , Keisuke Shima
  • , Takehiro Kumada
  • , Mao Xu
  • , Hiroki Takezawa
  • , Kohhei Mesaki
  • , Kazuaki Tsuda
  • , Shuichiro Hashimoto
  • , Tianzhuo Zhan
  • , Hui Zhang
  • , Yoshinari Kamakura
  • , Yuhhei Suzuki
  • , Hiroshi Inokawa
  • , Hiroya Ikeda
  • , Takashi Matsukawa
  • , Takeo Matsuki
  • , Takanobu Watanabe
  • *Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

We propose a planar device architecture compatible with the CMOS process technology as the optimal current benchmark of a Si-nanowire (NW) thermoelectric (TE) power generator. The proposed device is driven by a temperature gradient that is formed in the proximity of a perpendicular heat flow to the substrate. Therefore, unlike the conventional TE generators, the planar short Si-NWs need not be suspended on a cavity structure. Under an externally applied temperature difference of 5 K, the recorded TE power density is observed to be 12 μW/cm2 by shortening the Si-NWs length and suppressing the parasitic thermal resistance of the Si substrate. The demonstration paves a pathway to develop cost-effective autonomous internet-of-things applications that utilize the environmental and body heats.

Original languageEnglish
Article number8467534
Pages (from-to)5180-5188
Number of pages9
JournalIEEE Transactions on Electron Devices
Volume65
Issue number11
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 2018
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • CMOS process
  • Si nanowire (NW)
  • energy harvesting
  • scalability
  • thermoelectric (TE) generator

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