Thermoelectric Characterization and Power Generation Using a Silicon-on-Insulator Substrate

We demonstrate techniques for measuring thermoelectric voltages and generating on-chip power using a silicon-on-insulator substrate. Our design uses lateral heat conduction in the silicon overlayer to establish temperature gradients, which dramatically reduces microfabrication complexity compared to competing designs based on a free-standing membrane. This letter characterizes the thermoelectric power of a metal–semiconductor structure involving a doped SbTe alloy that is relevant for phase-change memory. The thermoelectric power of the SbTe–TiW thermocouple is 24
$\mu\hbox{V/K}$
, and the power generation output achieves up to 0.56
$\mu\hbox{W/cm}^{2}$
with a temperature gradient of 18
$^{\circ}\hbox{K}$
.
$\hfill$
[2011-0233]