Significant Enhancement of Thermoelectric Figure of Merit in BiSbTe-Based Composites by Incorporating Carbon Microfiber

Bismuth telluride-based materials are already being commercially developed for thermoelectric (TE) cooling devices and power generators. However, the relatively low efficiency, which is characterized by a TE figure of merit, zT, is the main obstacle to more widespread application. Significant advances in the TE performance have been made through boundary engineering via embedding nanoinclusions or nanoscale grains. Herein, an effective approach to greatly enhance the TE performance of p-type BiSbTe material by incorporating carbon microfibers is reported. A high zT of 1.4 at 375 K and high average zT of 1.25 for temperatures in the range of 300 to 500 K is achieved in the BiSbTe/carbon microfiber (BST/CF) composite materials. Their superior TE performance originates from the low thermal conductivity and the relatively high power factor. A TE unicouple device based on the p-type BST/CF composite material and the commercially available n-type bismuth telluride-based material shows a huge cooling temperature drop in the operating temperature range of 299–375 K, and is greatly superior to the unicouple device made of both commercial p-type and n-type bismuth telluride-based material. The materials demonstrate a high average zT and excellent mechanical properties and are strong candidates for practical applications.     

Innovative wick design for multi-source, flat plate heat pipes

We present a novel micro-heat pipe wick design and fabrication technique to significantly boost the effective thermal conductivity of the heat pipe relative to the monolithic substrate material. Extensive porous flow modeling of the process has provided critical information on the key parameters and the resulting anisotropic wick designs have shown robust performance improvements. A methanol charged copper device reported in this paper showed a maximum thermal conductivity of 760 W/m K prior to dry out. This represents a 1.9× increase over the conductivity of solid copper.     

Large area flexible lighting foils using distributed bare LED dies on polyester substrates

Integration of LEDs on flexible foil substrates is of interest for flexible lighting applications and for backlights for flexible displays. Such a large area lighting device can be made by integrating a matrix of closely spaced LEDs on a flexible foil substrate. Preferably, these LEDs are integrated unpackaged, i.e. as bare dies, as this reduces footprint, thickness and cost. As substrates, low cost materials like polyethylene terephthalate (PET) should preferably be used. However, the use of these materials also imposes limitations. Especially, their low thermal stability limits the maximum temperatures during the processing and the thermal dissipation of the LED during operation will pose constraints on the thermal design. This paper describes the results of research on possibilities for integrating bare die LEDs with such low cost flexible PET foils. Bonding of LED dies on PET substrates with copper circuitry using conductive adhesives was performed. Both anisotropic conducting adhesives and isotropic conducting adhesives were investigated. An experimental comparison is made between the different techniques based on temperature/humidity reliability and flexural stability of the bonded LEDs. Additionally, finite element (FE) thermal modeling results of adhesively bonded LED-on-foil configurations are presented. The role of the different materials and the effect of their geometries on the temperature distribution in the simulated devices are discussed. The results are compared to experimentally observed temperature distributions using infrared thermal imaging in LED on PET foil reference devices. Finally a demonstrator device of 64 LEDs on flexible copper–PET substrate is presented.     

Efficient and Flexible Thin Film Amorphous Silicon Solar Cells on Nanotextured Polymer Substrate Using Sol–gel Based Nanoimprinting Method

The mechanical flexibility of substrates and controllable nanostructures are two major considerations in designing high‐performance, flexible thin‐film solar cells. In this work, we proposed an approach to realize highly ordered metal oxide nanopatterns on polyimide (PI) substrate based on the sol‐gel chemistry and soft thermal nanoimprinting lithography. Thin‐film amorphous silicon (a‐Si:H) solar cells were subsequently constructed on the patterned PI flexible substrates. The periodic nanopatterns delivered broadband‐enhanced light absorption and quantum efficiency, as well as the eventual power conversion efficiency (PCE). The nanotextures also benefit for the device yield and mechanical flexibility, which experienced little efficiency drop even after 100,000 bending cycles. In addition, flexible, transparent nanocone films, obtained by a template process, were attached onto the patterned PI solar cells, serving as top anti‐reflection layers. The PCE performance with these dual‐interfacial patterns rose up to 8.17%, that is, it improved by 48.5% over the planar device. Although the work was conducted on a‐Si:H material, our proposed scheme can be extended to a variety of active materials for different optoelectronic applications.     

Use of Photothermally Generated Seebeck Voltage for Thermal Characterization of Thermoelectric Materials

A simple and accurate experimental procedure to measure simultaneously the thermal properties (conductivity, diffusivity, and effusivity) of thermoelectric (TE) materials using their Seebeck voltage is proposed. The technique is based on analysis of a periodically oscillating thermoelectric signal generated from a TE material when it is thermally excited using an intensity-modulated laser source. A self-normalization procedure is implemented in the presented method using TE signals generated by changing the laser heating from one side to another of the TE material. Experiments are done on a polyaniline carbon nanohybrid (6.6 wt.% carbon nanotubes), yielding a thermal conductivity of 1.106 ± 0.001 W/m-K. The results are compared with the results from photothermal infrared radiometry experiments.     

Thermal Cycling, Mechanical Degradation, and the Effective Figure of Merit of a Thermoelectric Module

Thermoelectric modules experience performance reduction and mechanical failure due to thermomechanical stresses induced by thermal cycling. The present study subjects a thermoelectric module to thermal cycling and evaluates the evolution of its thermoelectric performance through measurements of the thermoelectric figure of merit, ZT, and its individual components. The Seebeck coefficient and thermal conductivity are measured using steady-state infrared microscopy, and the electrical conductivity and ZT are evaluated using the Harman technique. These properties are tracked over many cycles until device failure after 45,000 thermal cycles. The mechanical failure of the TE module is analyzed using high-resolution infrared microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. A reduction in electrical conductivity is the primary mechanism of performance reduction and is likely associated with defects observed during cycling. The effective figure of merit is reduced by 20% through 40,000 cycles and drops by 97% at 45,000 cycles. These results quantify the effect of thermal cycling on a commercial TE module and provide insight into the packaging of a complete TE module for reliable operation.     

High‐Performance Flexible Thermoelectric Devices Based on All‐Inorganic Hybrid Films for Harvesting Low‐Grade Heat

The fabrication of a flexible thermoelectric (TE) device that contains flexible, all‐inorganic hybrid thin films (p‐type single‐wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs)/Sb₂Te₃ and n‐type reduced graphene oxide (RGO)/Bi₂Te₃) is reported. The optimized power factors of the p‐type and n‐type hybrid thin films at ambient temperature are about 55 and 108 µW m^?1 K^?2, respectively. The high performance of these films that are fabricated through the combination of vacuum filtration and annealing can be attributed to their planar orientation and network structure. In addition, a TE device, with 10 couples of legs, shows an output power of 23.6 µW at a temperature gradient of 70 K. A prototype of an integrated photovoltaic‐TE (PV‐TE) device demonstrates the ability to harvest low‐grade “waste” thermal energy from the human body and solar irradiation. The flexible TE and PV‐TE device have great potential in wearable energy harvesting and management.     

Power Semiconductor SMD Package Embedded in Multilayered Ceramic for Low Switching Loss

We propose a multilayered‐substrate‐based power semiconductor discrete device package for a low switching loss and high heat dissipation. To verify the proposed package, cost‐effective, low‐temperature co‐fired ceramic, multilayered substrates are used. A bare die is attached to an embedded cavity of the multilayered substrate. Because the height of the pad on the top plane of the die and the signal line on the substrate are the same, the length of the bond wires can be shortened. A large number of thermal vias with a high thermal conductivity are embedded in the multilayered substrate to increase the heat dissipation rate of the package. The packaged silicon carbide Schottky barrier diode satisfies the reliability testing of a high‐temperature storage life and temperature humidity bias. At 175 °C, the forward current is 7 A at a forward voltage of 1.13 V, and the reverse leakage current is below 100 μA up to a reverse voltage of 980 V. The measured maximum reverse current (I_RM), reverse recovery time (T_rr), and reverse recovery charge (Q_rr) are 2.4 A, 16.6 ns, and 19.92 nC, respectively, at a reverse voltage of 300 V and di/dt equal to 300 A/μs.     

One-Dimensional Modeling of Thermogenerator Elements with Linear Material Profiles

Graded and segmented thermoelectric elements have been studied for a long time with the aim of improving the performance of thermogenerators that are exposed to a large temperature difference. However, it has been shown that simply adjusting the maximum figure of merit ZT in each segment of a stacked or graded thermoelectric (TE) element is not a sufficient strategy to maximize thermoelectric device performance. Global optimization of a performance parameter is commonly based on a one-dimensional continua-theoretical model. Following the proposal by Müller and coworkers, the temperature profile T(x) can be calculated within a model-free setup directly from the one-dimensional (1D) thermal energy balance, e.g., based on continuous monotonic gradient functions for all material profiles, and independent and free variability of the material parameters S(x), σ(x), and κ(x) is assumed primarily, where S is the Seebeck coefficient, and σ and κ are the electrical and thermal conductivities, respectively. Thus the optimum current density can be determined from the maximum of the global performance parameter. This has been done up to now by means of numerical procedures using a 1D thermoelectric (TE) finite-element method (FEM) code or the algorithm of multisegmented elements. Herein, an analytical solution of the 1D thermal energy balance has been found for constant gradients, based on Bessel functions. For a constant electrical conductivity but linear profiles S(x) and κ(x), first results for the electrical power output of a thermogenerator are presented.     

弯曲摆动作用下MFC输出开路电压幅值的研究

为了对基于柔性压电材料的流致振动俘能装置的设计优化提供技术支持,对一种压电纤维复合材料（MFC）的压电纤维片在弯曲摆动作用下的压电特性展开研究。首先理论分析了MFC压电纤维片的压电输出机理,并建立了压电模型,得出影响MFC压电纤维片输出开路电压幅值大小的各种因素;然后设计搭建了一种基于步进电机的MFC压电纤维片往复弯曲摆动试验台,利用该试验台研究了MFC压电纤维片在不同弯曲角度、弯曲摆动速度、基板、表面积等因素下的压电特性。研究结果表明,MFC压电纤维片的输出开路电压幅值随纤维片弯曲角度的增加而增大,当输出电压幅值达到最大值,继续增加弯曲角度,输出开路电压幅值不会产生明显变化;其输出开路电压幅值随压电片表面积的增加而变大;弯曲摆动速度及基板对输出开路电压幅值影响较小。     

Enhanced Thermoelectric Performance and Service Stability of Cu2Se Via Tailoring Chemical Compositions at Multiple Atomic Positions

Liquid‐like thermoelectric (TE) materials have the advantages of ultrahigh performance, low cost, and environment friendly, but their stability is greatly limited by the possible Cu/Ag deposition under a large current and/or temperature gradient. The pratical application based on liquid‐like TE materials requires both a high TE figure of merit (zT) for high energy conversion efficiency and large critical voltage for good stability, but they are very difficult to be simultaneously achieved in one material. In this work, both the zT and critical voltage are simultaneously optimized in Cu₂Se via tailoring chemical compositions at multiple atomic positions, i.e., introducing Cu deficiency at the Cu‐sites to lower Cu ion chemical potential and alloying sulfur at the Se‐sites to reduce carrier concentrations. A maximum zT of 2.0 at 1000 K has been successfully achieved for Cu_1.96Se_0.8S_0.2, about a 30% improvement over that for Cu₂Se. More importantly, Cu_1.96Se_0.8S_0.2 demonstrates a much higher critical voltage than Cu₂Se, yielding a greatly enhanced service stability under the conditions with/without a temperature gradient. An Ni/Mo/Cu_1.96Se_0.8S_0.2 TE unileg is successfully fabricated with a stable power output even after 400 thermal cycles between 473 and 873 K. This study greatly accelerates the real application of Cu₂Se‐based liquid‐like materials.     

An Electrical Switch‐Driven Flexible Electromagnetic Absorber

The development of a thin, tunable, and high‐performance flexible electromagnetic (EM) absorbing device that aims to solve signal interference or EM pollution is highly desirable but remains a great challenge. Herein, demonstrated is a flexible electrical‐driven device constructed by an insulated organic‐polymer substrate, carrier transmission layer, and core–shell structured absorber, enabling a narrow and tunable effective absorption region (f_E < 2.0 GHz) by controlling the external voltage toward this challenge. As a key design element, the selected absorber consists of an Sn/SnS/SnO₂ core and C shell, which exhibits an exceptional dielectric‐response ability at a small voltage, which is attributed to desirable carrier mobility and excitable carriers. Multiple f_E‐tuning regions (maximum up to 7.0), covering 90% of C‐band can be achieved for Sn/SnS/SnO₂@C‐based flexible device by selecting a low voltage (2–12 V). The strategy developed here may open a new avenue toward the design of flexible intelligent EM device for practical applications.     

Flexible Thermoelectric Polymer Composites Based on a Carbon Nanotubes Forest

Polymer‐based composites are of high interest in the field of thermoelectric (TE) materials because of their properties: abundance, low thermal conductivity, and nontoxicity. In applications, like TE for wearable energy harvesting, where low operating temperatures are required, polymer composites demonstrate compatible with the targeted specifications. The main challenge is reaching high TE efficiency. Fillers and chemical treatments can be used to enhance TE performance of the polymer matrix. The combined application of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes forest (VA‐CNTF) is demonstrated as fillers and chemical post‐treatment to obtain high‐efficiency TE composites, by dispersing VA‐CNTF into a poly (3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate matrix. The VA‐CNTF keeps the functional properties even in flexible substrates. The morphology, structure, composition, and functional features of the composites are thoroughly investigated. A dramatic increase of power factor is observed at the lowest operating temperature difference ever reported. The highest Seebeck coefficient and electrical conductivity are 58.7 µV K^?1 and 1131 S cm^?1, respectively. The highest power factor after treatment is twice as high in untreated samples. The results demonstrate the potential for the combined application of VA‐CNTF and chemical post‐treatment, in boosting the TE properties of composite polymers toward the development of high efficiency, low‐temperature, flexible TEs.     

Engineering Thermal Conductivity for Balancing Between Reliability and Performance of Bulk Thermoelectric Generators

The nanostructuring approach has significantly contributed to the improving of thermoelectric figure‐of‐merit (ZT) by reducing lattice thermal conductivity. Even though it is an effective method to enhance ZT, the drastically lowered thermal conductivity in some cases can cause thermomechanical issues leading to decreased reliability of thermoelectric generators. Here, an engineering thermal conductivity (κ_eng) is defined as a minimum allowable thermal conductivity of a thermoelectric material in a module, and is evaluated to avoid thermomechanical failure and thermoelectric degradation of a device. Additionally, there is dilemma of determining thermoelectric leg length: a shorter leg is desired for higher W kg^?1, W cm^?3, and W The nanostructuring approach has significantly contributed to the improving of thermoelectric figure‐of‐merit (ZT) by reducing lattice thermal conductivity. Even though it is an effective method to enhance ZT, the drastically lowered thermal conductivity in some cases can cause thermomechanical issues leading to decreased reliability of thermoelectric generators. Here, an engineering thermal conductivity (κ_eng) is defined as a minimum allowable thermal conductivity of a thermoelectric material in a module, and is evaluated to avoid thermomechanical failure and thermoelectric degradation of a device. Additionally, there is dilemma of determining thermoelectric leg length: a shorter leg is desired for higher W kg^?1, W cm^?3, and W $^?1, but it raises the thermomechanical vulnerability issue. By considering a balance between the thermoelectric performance and thermomechanical reliability issues, it is discussed how to improve device reliability of thermoelectric generators and the engineering thermal conductivity of thermoelectric materials.     

Thermal model for dc characteristics of algan/gan hemts including self-heating effect and non-linear polarization

A thermal model based on the polynomial relationship of n_s and E_F is presented. The effect of temperature rise due to self-heating is studied on various parameters viz. polarization, electron mobility, velocity saturation, low-field mobility and thermal conductivity of substrate. Parasitic resistances and channel length modulation were also taken into consideration. The relationship between self-heating effect and device parameters was studied. The model is based on closed-form expressions and does not require elaborate computation. After including self-heating effect in calculations of current–voltage characteristics, our results agreed well with published experimental data.     

Thermal management of AlGaN-GaN HFETs on sapphire using flip-chip bonding with epoxy underfill

Self-heating imposes the major limitation on the output power of GaN-based HFETs on sapphire or SiC. SiC substrates allow for a simple device thermal management scheme; however, they are about a factor 20-100 higher in cost than sapphire. Sapphire substrates of diameters exceeding 4 in are easily available but the heat removal through the substrate is inefficient due to its low thermal conductivity. The authors demonstrate that the thermal impedance of GaN based HFETs over sapphire substrates can be significantly reduced by implementing flip-chip bonding with thermal conductive epoxy underfill. They also show that in sapphire-based flip-chip mounted devices the heat spread from the active region under the gate along the GaN buffer and the substrate is the key contributor to the overall thermal impedance.     

Effect of geometric dimensions on thermoelectric and mechanical performance for Mg2Si-based thermoelectric unicouple

The generating efficiency of thermoelectric generation (TEG) depends not only on the thermoelectric (TE) performance of TE device, but also on its mechanical performance. And choosing suitable TE materials and geometric dimension can improve the working performance of TE device. Mg₂Si is one of the most promising TE materials in the medium temperature range, and Mg₂Si-based TE devices have broad application prospects. In this paper, a three-dimensional finite model of the Mg₂Si-based TE unicouple used for recovering vehicle exhaust waste heat is constructed for the performance analysis. The TE performance and mechanical performance of the Mg₂Si-based TE unicouple under the influence of different geometric dimensions are investigated, respectively. The curves of the output power, the power conversion efficiency and the thermal stress distribution varying with different geometric dimensions are discussed in detail. The calculated result would be helpful for further understanding of the TE and mechanical properties of the Mg₂Si-based TE unicouple, and it can also provide guidance for further strength check and optimum geometric design of TE unicouples in general.     

A Comparison of Performance Characteristics of Multistage Thermoelectric Coolers Based on Different Ceramic Substrates

The influence of the thermal properties of the substrate on the performance of cascade thermoelectric coolers (TECs) is studied with an emphasis on a justified choice of substrate material. An analytical model is developed for predicting the thermal resistance of the substrate associated with three-dimensional heat transfer from a smaller cascade area into a larger cooling cascade. The model is used to define the maximum temperature difference for a line of standard multistage TECs based on various substrate materials with different thermal conductivities, including white 96% Al₂O₃ “Rubalit” ceramic, grey 99.8% Al₂O₃ “Policor” ceramic, and AlN and BeO ceramics. Two types of multistage TECs are considered, namely with series and series–parallel connection of TE pellets, having from two to five cascades with TE pellet length in the range from 0.3 mm to 2 mm. A comparative analysis of the obtained results is made, and recommendations are formulated concerning the selection of an appropriate substrate material providing the highest performance-to-cost ratio.     

Experiments on low velocity cooling of high conductivity substrates

Experiments are reported on low velocity cooling of a heater-on-substrate geometry for high conductivity substrate materials. Four different substrate materials were studied: 1) aluminum 6061-T6; 2) aluminum nitride; 3) alumina; 4) FR-4. The effects of combined buoyancy and forced air flow, geometric orientation, substrate size, thermal conductivity, and emittance on heat transfer are evaluated. Results define the performance of the substrates and the limits of conjugate mixed convection for horizontal substrates, and of orientation effects for substrates tilted from buoyancy-opposing to buoyancy-assisting orientations. An analytical approximation is described that predicts the experimental data with good accuracy over broad parameter ranges     

Advanced Thermoelectric Materials for Flexible Cooling Application

Flexible cooling devices, which aim to fulfill the essential requirement of complex working environments and enable local heat dissipation, have become the cutting-edge area of refrigeration technology. Thermoelectric (TE) material represents a promising candidate for various flexible cooling applications, including wearable personal thermoregulation devices. With the increasing interest in the Peltier effect of conductive polymers and inorganic films on flexible substrates, flexible cooling devices have undergone rapid development. Herein, the fundamental mechanisms, basic parameters, and temperature measurement techniques for evaluating the cooling performance are summarized. Moreover, recent progress on TE materials, such as flexible inorganic and organic materials for Peltier cooling studies, is reviewed. More importantly, insights are provided into the key strategies for high-performance Peltier devices. The final part details the existing challenges and perspectives on flexible TE cooling to inspire additional research interests toward the advancement of refrigeration technology.