A Theory of Thermoelectric Energy Harvesting Systems

Abstract

This chapter presents a study of thermoelectric energy harvesting with nano-sized thermopiles (nTE) in a planar 65 nm silicon CMOS process. These devices generated power from a 5C temperature difference at a density comparable to commercially available thermoelectric generators, following a metric used in the research literature (Hudak, 2008). By analyzing these devices as a thermoelectric harvesting system, the authors explore the impact of additional performance metrics such as heat source/sink thermal impedance, available heat flow density, and voltage stacking, providing a more comprehensive set of criteria for evaluating the suitability of a thermal harvesting technology. The authors use their thermoelectric system theory to consider the prospects for several thermoelectric energy harvesting applications.