3D Thermoelectric Structures Derived from a New Mixed Micromachining Process

Abstract

This paper proposes an innovative 3D thermoelectric structure which significantly reduce the componet size without deterioration of sensor performance. Based on complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) transistor compatible process, this 3D thermoelectric structure is demonstrated and fabricated by combining front-side silicon anisotropic wet etching and aluminum sacrificial layer etching technique. The voltage responsivity of derived 3D thermoelectric structure with 180×180 µm2 pixel size can be as high as 190 V/W in vacuum. This new thermoelectric structure shows its potential to be an excellent pixel structure of infrared sensor array for infrared recognition applications.