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Zhang J, Wei P, Zhang H, Li L, Zhu W, Nie X, Zhao W, Zhang Q. Enhanced Contact Performance and Thermal Tolerance of Ni/Bi 2Te 3 Joints for Bi 2Te 3-Based Thermoelectric Devices. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2023; 15:22705-22713. [PMID: 37126364 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.3c01904] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/11/2023]
Abstract
Ni metal has been widely used as a barrier layer in Bi2Te3-based thermoelectric devices, which establishes stable joints to link Bi2Te3-based legs and electrodes. However, the Ni/Bi2Te3 joints become very fragile when the devices were exposed to high temperature, causing severe performance deterioration and even device failure. Herein, stable Ni/Bi2Te3 joints have been established by arc spraying of the Ni barrier layer on the Bi2Te3-based alloys. The interface microstructure and contact performance including the bonding strength and contact resistivity of the arc-sprayed Ni/Bi2Te3 joints are investigated. The results indicate that, as compared with traditional Ni/Bi2Te3 joints, the arc-sprayed Ni/Bi2Te3 joints have comparably low contact resistivity while possessing a 50% higher bonding strength. Aging the joints as an exposure to high-temperature circumstances, the arc-sprayed Ni/Bi2Te3 joints exhibit much better tolerance to the thermal shock with stable bonding strength and contact resistivity. The enhanced interfacial contact performance and thermal tolerance should be attributed to the thick Ni barrier layer and interface reaction layer with good Ohmic contact. This work provides an effective strategy to establish stable joints for the Bi2Te3-based thermoelectric devices with improved thermal stability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jianqiang Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, China
| | - Ping Wei
- State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, China
- Foshan Xianhu Laboratory of the Advanced Energy Science and Technology Guangdong Laboratory, Foshan 528000, China
| | - Huiqiang Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, China
| | - Longzhou Li
- State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, China
| | - Wanting Zhu
- State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, China
| | - Xiaolei Nie
- State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, China
| | - Wenyu Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, China
- Foshan Xianhu Laboratory of the Advanced Energy Science and Technology Guangdong Laboratory, Foshan 528000, China
| | - Qingjie Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, China
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Ming T, Chen S, Yan Y, Gong T, Wan J, Wu Y. The simulated cooling performance of a thin-film thermoelectric cooler with coupled-thermoelements connected in parallel. Heliyon 2022; 8:e10025. [PMID: 36033285 PMCID: PMC9399165 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e10025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2022] [Revised: 04/11/2022] [Accepted: 07/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The thermoelements of the traditional thin-film thermoelectric cooler (TEC) are connected electrically in series, thus the performance of traditional thin-film TEC reduces sharply when there is something wrong with any thermoelement. On account of this deficiency, we proposed a novel thin-film TEC with a couple of thermoelements electrically connected in parallel and then electrically connected in series to the next couple of thermoelements. The performance and reliability of the novel thin-film TEC is compared with the traditional thin-film TEC. The maximum cooling capacity, the maximum cooling temperature, and the coefficient of performance of the novel and the traditional thin-film TEC are systematically studied and compared when 0, 2, and 4 thermoelements are disabled, respectively. The results show that the performance and reliability of the novel thin-film TEC are superior to that of the traditional thin-film TEC, while the optimal electric current of the novel thin-film TEC current is 2.14 times of that for the traditional thin-film TEC. This work is of great significance to improving the performance and reliability of thin-film thermoelectric devices consisting of dozens of small thermoelements. A novel thin-film thermoelectric cooler with better reliability was demonstrated. The cooling performance of the new thin-film thermoelectric cooler is quantified. The new thin-film thermoelectric cooler is less sensitive to the local cracks.
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Shen L, Chen Y, Niu B, Liu Z, Qin J, Xie J. Optimization of Interface Materials between Bi 2Te 3-Based Films and Cu Electrodes Enables a High Performance Thin-Film Thermoelectric Cooler. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2022; 14:21106-21115. [PMID: 35475614 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.1c24603] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Thermoelectric interface materials (TEiMs) are key to optimizing the electrical contact and stability of the interface between thermoelectric material and metal electrode in high-performance thin-film thermoelectric coolers (TECs). Herein, we explored TEiMs applicable to representative Bi-Te films and found that Cr and Ag are effective TEiMs for p-type Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3 and n-type Bi2Te3, respectively. By introducing 200 nm Cr and 200 nm Ag as TEiMs for p-type Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3/Cu and n-type Bi2Te3/Cu interfaces, Cu diffusion is suppressed, and excellent electrical contact is achieved (1.81 × 10-12 Ω m2 for p-type and 3.32 × 10-12 Ω m2 for n-type) and remains stable after heat treatment (2.37 × 10-12 Ω m2 for p-type and 1.63 × 10-12 Ω m2 for n-type). Furthermore, the cooling flux of TECs with optimized TEiMs increases from 122.74 to 296.56 W/cm2, while the performance degradation caused by contact resistance decreases from 50.81 to 4.15%. In addition, our results show that diffusion occurs between not only Cu but also Ag and the thermoelectric material, as TEiMs diffuse slightly. The diffusion of Cu and Ag at the interface can optimize the electrical contact of Bi2Te3/Cu but strongly degrade the electrical contacts of Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3/Cu. Our work provides an optimal selection of TEiMs for high-performance Bi-Te thin film coolers and provides guidance for further miniaturization of devices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Limei Shen
- School of Energy and Power Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
- Shenzhen Huazhong University of Science and Technology Research Institute, Shenzhen 518057, China
| | - Yixin Chen
- School of Energy and Power Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
| | - Bingxuan Niu
- School of Energy and Power Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
| | - Zeyu Liu
- School of Energy and Power Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
| | - Jiang Qin
- School of Energy Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China
| | - Junlong Xie
- School of Energy and Power Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
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Wang Y, Zhu P, Li W, Liu X, Li H, Deng Y, Tan M. High Interfacial Thermal Stability of Flexible Flake-Structured Aluminum Thin-Film Electrodes for Bi 2Te 3-Based Thermoelectric Devices. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2022; 14:12920-12926. [PMID: 35239312 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.2c00542] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Environmental thermal energy harvesting based on thermoelectric devices is greatly significant to the advancement of next-generation self-powered wearable electronic devices. However, the rigid electrodes and interface diffusion of electrodes/thermoelectric materials would lead to the wearable discomfort and performance degradation of the thermoelectric device. Here, a flake-structured Al thin-film electrode with high conductivity and excellent reliability is prepared by regulating the microstructure and crystallinity of the films. The as-prepared Al thin film not only maintains its robustness after 1000 bending cycles but also does not delaminate from the substrate when subjected to the 3M tape test, exhibiting excellent flexibility and adhesion to substrate. By comparing with the annealed interface of the double-layer Cu/Bi2Te3 film, the interface of the heat-treated Al/Bi2Te3 film has almost no element diffusion, demonstrating high interfacial thermal stability. Moreover, a thermoelectric temperature sensor based on the Al thin-film electrode is prepared. The sensitivity of the annealed sensor is still linear, and it can stably monitor the temperature variation, showing high reliability. This discovery could provide a facile and effective strategy to achieving highly reliable thermoelectric devices and flexible electronic devices without any additional diffusion barriers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yaling Wang
- College of Science, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, China
| | - Pengcheng Zhu
- Key Laboratory of Materials Physics, Ministry of Education, School of Physics and Microelectronics, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China
| | - Wenqiang Li
- College of Science, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, China
| | - Xiaobiao Liu
- College of Science, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, China
| | - Hui Li
- College of Science, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, China
| | - Yuan Deng
- Hangzhou Innovation Institute, Beihang University, Hangzhou 310052, China
- Research Institute for Frontier Science, Beihang University, Beijing 100083, China
| | - Ming Tan
- College of Science, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, China
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Zhang B, Zhu W, Cao L, Yu Y, Qin D, Huang X, Deng Y. Toward Reduced Interface Contact Resistance: Controllable Surface Energy of Sb 2Te 3 Films via Tuning the Crystallization and Orientation. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2022; 14:10955-10965. [PMID: 35168322 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.1c22908] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
The electrical contact resistance between a metal and semiconductor is one of the keys to improving the output performance of thin-film thermoelectric devices. Herein, we reduced the interface contact resistance by controlling the surface energy of a Sb2Te3 semiconductor via tuning of the crystallization and orientation, preparing an intrinsically compact and flat Sb2Te3 film with high surface energy and low roughness, which can give rise to a low average specific contact resistivity (8.2 × 10-6 Ω cm2) with a Ni/Cu metal. The improvement in interface electrical properties is due to the increase in the surface energy and decrease in the surface roughness of the semiconductor surface, which lead to a transformation from three-dimensional island-shaped nucleation to two-dimensional layered nucleation for surface-attached metal films, forming a longitudinally tight connection contact with a low resistance. This approach allows the resistivity to become close to the fundamental theoretically calculated limit. Our work provides a new idea for reducing the contact resistivity of thin-film thermoelectric devices, which is conducive to supporting the development of thermoelectric semiconductor planarization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bohan Zhang
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100083, China
| | - Wei Zhu
- Research Institute for Frontier Science, Beihang University, Beijing 100083, China
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Biomedical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100083, China
| | - Lili Cao
- Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education for Optoelectronic Measurement Technology and Instrument, Beijing Information Science and Technology University, Beijing 100192, China
| | - Yuedong Yu
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100083, China
| | - Dongli Qin
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100083, China
| | - Xin Huang
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100083, China
| | - Yuan Deng
- Research Institute for Frontier Science, Beihang University, Beijing 100083, China
- Hangzhou Innovation Institute, Beihang University, Hangzhou 310052, China
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Corbett S, Gautam D, Lal S, Yu K, Balla N, Cunningham G, Razeeb KM, Enright R, McCloskey D. Electrodeposited Thin-Film Micro-Thermoelectric Coolers with Extreme Heat Flux Handling and Microsecond Time Response. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2021; 13:1773-1782. [PMID: 33393783 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.0c16614] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Thin-film thermoelectric coolers are emerging as a viable option for the on-chip temperature management of electronic and photonic integrated circuits. In this work, we demonstrate the record heat flux handling capability of electrodeposited Bi2Te3 films of 720(±60) W cm-2 at room temperature, achieved by careful control of the contact interfaces to reduce contact resistance. The characteristic parameters of a single leg thin-film devices were measured in situ, giving a Seebeck coefficient of S = -121(±6) μV K-1, thermal conductivity of κ = 0.85(±0.08) W m-1 K-1, electrical conductivity of σ = 5.2(±0.32) × 104 S m-1, and electrical contact resistivity of ∼10-11 Ω m2. These thermoelectric parameters lead to a material ZT = 0.26(±0.04), which, for our device structure, allowed a net cooling of ΔTmax = 4.4(±0.12) K. A response time of τ = 20 μs was measured experimentally. This work shows that with the correct treatment of contact interfaces, electrodeposited thin-film thermoelectrics can compete with more complicated and expensive technologies such as metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) multilayers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simon Corbett
- School of Physics, Trinity College, Dublin 2 D02 PN40, Ireland
| | - D Gautam
- Tyndall National Institute, University College Cork, Dyke Parade, Lee Maltings, Cork T12 R5CP, Ireland
| | - Swatchith Lal
- Tyndall National Institute, University College Cork, Dyke Parade, Lee Maltings, Cork T12 R5CP, Ireland
| | - Kenny Yu
- School of Physics, Trinity College, Dublin 2 D02 PN40, Ireland
- Thermal Management Research Group, Efficient Energy Transfer (ηET) Department, Nokia Bell Labs, Dublin D15 Y6NT, Ireland
| | - Naveen Balla
- AMBER Centre, CRANN Institute, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2 D02 PN40, Ireland
| | - Graeme Cunningham
- School of Physics, Trinity College, Dublin 2 D02 PN40, Ireland
- AMBER Centre, CRANN Institute, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2 D02 PN40, Ireland
| | - Kafil M Razeeb
- Tyndall National Institute, University College Cork, Dyke Parade, Lee Maltings, Cork T12 R5CP, Ireland
| | - Ryan Enright
- Thermal Management Research Group, Efficient Energy Transfer (ηET) Department, Nokia Bell Labs, Dublin D15 Y6NT, Ireland
| | - David McCloskey
- School of Physics, Trinity College, Dublin 2 D02 PN40, Ireland
- AMBER Centre, CRANN Institute, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2 D02 PN40, Ireland
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7
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Cao L, Gao H, Miao M. Enhanced thermoelectric properties of (015) plane-oriented n-type Bi 2Se 0.5Te 2.5 films with wide temperature range stability. CrystEngComm 2020. [DOI: 10.1039/d0ce01263g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Enhanced thermoelectric properties with wide temperature range stability are achieved through a facile post-annealing process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lili Cao
- Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education for Optoelectronic Measurement Technology and Instrument
- Information Microsystem Institute
- Beijing Information Science and Technology University
- Beijing
- China
| | - Hongli Gao
- Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education for Optoelectronic Measurement Technology and Instrument
- Information Microsystem Institute
- Beijing Information Science and Technology University
- Beijing
- China
| | - Min Miao
- Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education for Optoelectronic Measurement Technology and Instrument
- Information Microsystem Institute
- Beijing Information Science and Technology University
- Beijing
- China
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8
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Yu Y, Zhu W, Kong X, Wang Y, Zhu P, Deng Y. Recent development and application of thin-film thermoelectric cooler. Front Chem Sci Eng 2019. [DOI: 10.1007/s11705-019-1829-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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Kumar S, Singh S, Dhawan PK, Yadav RR, Khare N. Effect of graphene nanofillers on the enhanced thermoelectric properties of Bi 2Te 3 nanosheets: elucidating the role of interface in de-coupling the electrical and thermal characteristics. NANOTECHNOLOGY 2018; 29:135703. [PMID: 29355837 DOI: 10.1088/1361-6528/aaa99e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
In this report, we investigate the effect of graphene nanofillers on the thermoelectric properties of Bi2Te3 nanosheets and demonstrate the role of interface for enhancing the overall figure of merit (ZT) ∼ 53%. The enhancement in the ZT is obtained due to an increase in the electrical conductivity (∼111%) and decrease in the thermal conductivity (∼12%) resulting from increased conducting channels and phonon scattering, respectively at the interfaces between graphene and Bi2Te3 nanosheets. A detailed analysis of the thermal conductivity reveals ∼4 times decrease in the lattice thermal conductivity in contrast to ∼2 times increase in the electronic thermal conductivity after the addition of graphene. Kelvin probe measurements have also been carried which reveals presence of low potential barrier at the interface between graphene and Bi2Te3 nanosheets which assist the flow of charge carriers thereby, increasing the mobility of the carriers. Thus, our results reveals a significant decrease in the lattice thermal conductivity (due to the formation of interfaces) and increase in the electron mobility (due to conducting paths at the interfaces) strongly participate in deciding observed enhancement in the thermoelectric figure of merit.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sunil Kumar
- Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Hauz Khas, New Delhi-110016, India
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