Thermoelectric Power Generation Characteristics of a Thin-Film Device Consisting of Electrodeposited n-Bi2Te3 and p-Sb2Te3 Thin-Film Legs

Abstract

A thermoelectric thin-film device of the cross-plane configuration was fabricated by flip-chip bonding of the top electrodes to 242 pairs of electrodeposited n-type Bi2Te3 and p-type Sb2Te3 thin-film legs on the bottom substrate. The electrodeposited Bi2Te3 and Sb2Te3 films of 20-μm thickness exhibited Seebeck coefficients of −59 μV/K and 485 μV/K, respectively. The internal resistance of the thin-film device was measured as 3.7 kΩ, most of which was attributed to the interfacial resistance of the flip-chip joints. The actual temperature difference ΔTG working across the thin-film legs was estimated to be 10.4 times smaller than the apparent temperature difference ΔT applied across the thin-film device. The thin-film device exhibited an open-circuit voltage of 0.294 V and a maximum output power of 5.9 μW at an apparent temperature difference ΔT of 22.3 K applied across the thin-film device.