A CMOS compatible thermoelectric device made of crystalline silicon membranes with nanopores. (26th September 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Bah, Thierno-Moussa; Didenko, Stanislav; Zhou, Di; Zhu, Tianqi; Ikzibane, Hafsa; Monfray, Stephane; Skotnicki, Thomas; Dubois, Emmanuel; Robillard, Jean-François
• Is Part Of: Nanotechnology. Volume 33:Number 50(2022)
• Publication Date: 2022-09-26
• Subjects: silicon -- CMOS -- thermoelectricity -- energy harvesting -- peltier cooling -- silicon-on-insulator -- phonon scattering; Nanotechnology -- Periodicals; Nanotechnology -- Periodicals; Nanotechnology; Publications périodiques; Nanotechnologies; Periodicals; 620.5
• DOI: 10.1088/1361-6528/ac8d12
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0957-4484

Abstract

Abstract: Herein, we report the use of nanostructured crystalline silicon as a thermoelectric material and its integration into thermoelectric devices. The proof-of-concept relies on the partial suppression of lattice thermal conduction by introducing pores with dimensions scaling between the electron mean free path and the phonon mean free path. In other words, we artificially aimed at the well-known 'electron crystal and phonon glass' trade-off targeted in thermoelectricity. The devices were fabricated using CMOS-compatible processes and exhibited power generation up to 5.5 mW cm −2 under a temperature difference of 280 K. These numbers demonstrate the capability to power autonomous devices with environmental heat sources using silicon chips of centimeter square dimensions. We also report the possibility of using the developed devices for integrated thermoelectric cooling.