3D thermoelectric structures derived from a new mixed micromachining process

This paper presents an innovative two-level thermoelectric structure which significantly reduce the component size without deterioration of sensor performance. Based on CMOS compatible process, this two-level thermoelectric structure is demonstrated and fabricated by combining front-side silicon anisotropic wet etching and aluminum sacrificial layer etching technique. The voltage responsivity of derived thermopile with 300/spl times/300 /spl mu/m/sup 2/ pixel size can be as high as 162 V/W in vacuum. This new thermoelectric structure shows its potential to be an excellent pixel structure of infrared sensor array for security application.