Summary Objectives Partners Activities Events Links Contacts Romanian
Thermoelectric devices for energy conversion and temperature
control have been widely exploited in various industrial fields, and it is
possible to extend the number of applications by miniaturizing. A typical
application for the energy conversion is a wristwatch, which incorporates a
micro-thermoelectric generator. The thermoelectric devices for temperature
control are mainly utilized for laser diodes in order to keep their emission
wavelength constant; also they are used for
small scale power generators, detectors, low weight
refrigerators etc. Their salient features include low weight, extremely high
reliability over extended periods of operating time, no moving parts, silent
operation etc. To further minimize the thermoelectric
device size, various industrial applications might be produced, for instance,
spot-cooling of electronic devices. There are presently many deposition methods
to obtain thermoelectric thin films with high quality, but it is challenging to
reduce their fabrication cost and the waste produced in a normal etch-based
process. Printing processes such as screen and inkjet printing are attractive
techniques to reduce the fabrication cost. If they can be applied to
thermoelectric devices, micro-generators and micro-Peltier coolers for
micro-electronic devices might be available with low-cost fabrication.
Bismuth telluride (Bi2Te3) and its alloys are known as one of the
best thermoelectric materials currently available near room temperature
(200-600K). These materials have been extensively investigated in bulk
crystalline form because of their excellent thermoelectric properties, whereas
in thin film form so far relatively very little attention has been paid. The
electrodeposition appears to be a promising and low-cost growth method for
obtaining films of high quality because offers the advantages of low synthesis temperature, large area
deposition, high growth rates and high throughput. Moreover, the electrolyses
can be made in laboratory atmosphere as compared to standard physical and
chemical vapor deposition techniques.
In the present Project the Romanian side proposes the study of
n-BiTeSe and p-BiSbTe thermoelectric thin films preparation by
electrodeposition technique, only. Experimentally, the influences of preparation
on film structure, composition and performances will be investigated. For
studying the electrodeposition mechanism and layers characterization several
electrochemical methods (potentiodynamic curves, cyclic voltammetry,
electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, chronoamperometry), SEM microscopy, EDX,
AFM and X ray diffraction will be used. The results will be compared with
Chinese partner. An optimized mini-thermoelectric module will be proposed, by
simulation of heat and electricity transmittance through the module. Together
with the Chinese partner, for the manufacturing of mini thermoelectric generator
based on the proposed module will be use either electrodeposition (both