Theoretical and Experimental Investigation of a Photoelectric-Thermoelectric Integrated Power Generator Filled by Al Layer

This article presents the theoretical and experimental investigations of a novel integrated power generator. A solar cell and a thermoelectric generator (TEG) are integrated in a single chip. The fabrication process of the integrated power generator is compatible with the CMOS process and microelectromechanical system (MEMS) technology. Hence, the TEG and the solar cell can collect luminous energy and thermal energy at the same time. The TEG consists of n-type and p-type thermal legs, which are connected in squares and can supply a dc voltage. By experimental measurements, when the TEG is covered by an aluminum layer, its voltage factor and power factor are 0.149 V/cm
²
K and 3.03 nW/cm
²
K
²
, respectively. The performance is better than the chip filled by thermal grease. In addition, the solar cell consists of several p-n junctions, which are formed by doping on the silicon substrate. Both the top and back of the solar cell can receive light. When light is incident on the top and bottom surfaces of the chip, the conversion efficiencies of the photoelectric generator are 4.45% and 0.682%, respectively.