Dispenser-printed planar thick-film thermoelectric energy generators

This work presents advancements in dispenser-printed thick film thermoelectric materials for the fabrication of planar and printable thermoelectric energy generators. The thermoelectric properties of the printed thermoelectric materials were measured as a function of temperature. The maximum dimensionless figures of merit (ZTs) at 302 K for the n-type Bi2Te3-epoxy composite and the p-type Sb2Te3-epoxy composite are 0.18 and 0.19, respectively. A 50-couple prototype with 5 mm × 640 μm × 90 μm printed element dimensions was fabricated on a polyimide substrate with evaporated metal contacts. The prototype device produced a power output of 10.5 μW at 61.3 μA and 171.6 mV for a temperature difference of 20 K resulting in a device areal power density of 75 μW cm−2. (Some figures in this article are in colour only in the electronic version)