Chip-Level Thermoelectric Power Generators Based on High-Density Silicon Nanowire Array Prepared With Top-Down CMOS Technology

This letter, for the first time, reports a high-density silicon-nanowire (SiNW)-based thermoelectric generator (TEG) prepared by a top-down CMOS-compatible technique. The 5 mm x 5 mm TEG comprises of densely packed alternating n- and p-type SiNW bundles with each wire having a diameter of 80 nm and a height of 1 mu m. Each bundle serving as an individual thermoelectric element, having 540 x 540 wires, was connected electrically in series and thermally in parallel. The fabricated TEG demonstrates thermoelectric power generation with an open circuit voltage (V(oc)) of 1.5 mV and a short circuit current (I(sc)) of 3.79 mu A with an estimated temperature gradient across the device of 0.12 K.