Fabrication and Testing of Thermoelectric CMOS-MEMS Microgenerators with CNCs Film

Abstract

Manufacturing and testing of a TMG (thermoelectric microgenerator) with CNCs (carbon nanocapsules) film fabricated utilizing a CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor) technology are investigated. The microgenerator includes a CNCs layer, thermopiles, and thermometers. CNCs, a heat absorbing material, are coated on the microgenerator, so that the TD (temperature difference) of HP (hot part) and CP (cold part) in the thermopiles increases, resulting in an enhancement of the microgenerator OP (output power). Thermometers fabricated in the microgenerator are employed to detect the HP and CP temperature in thermopiles. In order to enhance thermopiles’ TD, the HP in thermopiles was manufactured as suspension structures isolating heat dissipation, and the CP in thermopiles was made on a silicon substrate to increase the heat sink. Experiments showed that the microgenerator OV (output voltage) was 3.3 mV and its output power was 125 pW at TD 3 K. Voltage and power factors of TMG were 0.71 mV/K/mm2 and 9.04 pW/K2/mm2, respectively.

Keywords

• thermoelectric
• microgenerator
• CMOS-MEMS
• carbon nanocapsules