Bilayer Y-Type Transverse Thermoelectric Generator With Non-Contact Vertical Thermal Coupling Using LTCC Technology

This letter presents an innovative bilayer Y-type transverse thermoelectric generator (TEG) based on Low Temperature Co-Fired Ceramics (LTCC) technology. A non-contact vertical thermal coupling structure is proposed for the bilayer thermocouples (TCs), where longitudinal heat flow and transverse current are synchronized. To enhance the energy harvesting capacity, a cavity groove is designed between different hot/cold sources. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed TEG connected with 127 pairs of TCs in series exhibits a maximum output voltage factor of
${8}.{51}\times {10} ^{-{2}}$
mV/cm
$^{{2}}\cdot \text{K}$
, along with a maximum output power factor up to 1.12nW/cm
$^{{2}}\cdot \text{K}^{{2}}$
. Compared with the monolayered structure, the electrical generation capacity of our proposed bilayer Y-type TEG is improved by 40% with the cavity groove design. This work can serve as a reference design for waste heat harvesting in high-power microwave and RF electronic systems.