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Thin-Film Thermoelectric Module for Power Generator Applications Using a Screen-Printing Method

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Abstract

A new process for fabricating a low-cost thermoelectric module using a screen-printing method has been developed. Thermoelectric properties of screen-printed ZnSb films were investigated in an effort to develop a thermoelectric module with low cost per watt. The screen-printed Zn x Sb1−x films showed a low carrier concentration and high Seebeck coefficient when x was in the range of 0.5 to 0.57 and the annealing temperature was kept below 550°C. When the annealing temperature was higher than 550°C, the carrier concentration of the Zn x Sb1−x films reached that of a metal, leading to a decrease of the Seebeck coefficient. In the present experiment, the optimized carrier concentration of screen-printed ZnSb was 7 × 1018/cm3. The output voltage and power density of the ZnSb film were 10 mV and 0.17 mW/cm2, respectively, at ΔT = 50 K. A thermoelectric module was produced using the proposed screen-printing approach with ZnSb and CoSb3 as p-type and n-type thermoelectric materials, respectively, and copper as the pad metal.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Electrical Engineering, KAIST, 335 Gwahak-Ro, Daejeon, Korea

    Heon-Bok Lee, Hyun Jeong Yang, Ju Hyung We, Kukjoo Kim, Kyung Cheol Choi & Byung Jin Cho

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  1. Heon-Bok Lee
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  2. Hyun Jeong Yang
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  3. Ju Hyung We
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  4. Kukjoo Kim
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  5. Kyung Cheol Choi
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  6. Byung Jin Cho
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Correspondence to Byung Jin Cho.

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Lee, HB., Yang, H.J., We, J.H. et al. Thin-Film Thermoelectric Module for Power Generator Applications Using a Screen-Printing Method. J. Electron. Mater. 40, 615–619 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-010-1481-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-010-1481-0

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