Superior Thermoelectric Performance of SiGe Nanowires Epitaxially Integrated into Thermal Micro‐Harvesters

Abstract

AbstractSemiconductor nanowires have demonstrated fascinating properties with applications in a wide range of fields, including energy and information technologies. Particularly, increasing attention has focused on SiGe nanowires for applications in a thermoelectric generation. In this work, a bottom‐up vapour‐liquid‐solid chemical vapour Deposition methodology is employed to integrate heavily boron‐doped SiGe nanowires on thermoelectric generators. Thermoelectrical properties –, i.e., electrical and thermal conductivities and Seebeck coefficient – of grown nanowires are fully characterized at temperatures ranging from 300 to 600 K, allowing the complete determination of the Figure‐of‐merit, zT, with obtained values of 0.4 at 600 K for optimally doped nanowires. A correlation between doping level, thermoelectric performance, and elemental distribution is established employing advanced elemental mapping (synchrotron‐based nano‐X‐ray fluorescence). Moreover, the operation of p‐doped SiGe NWs integrated into silicon micromachined thermoelectrical generators is shown over standalone and series‐ and parallel‐connected arrays. Maximum open circuit voltage of 13.8 mV and power output as high as 15.6 µW cm−2 are reached in series and parallel configurations, respectively, operating upon thermal gradients generated with hot sources at 200 °C and air flows of 1.5 m s−1. These results pave the way for direct application of SiGe nanowire‐based micro‐thermoelectric generators in the field of the Internet of Things.