Fabrication of a thermoelectric generator on a polymer-coated substrate via laser-induced forward transfer of chalcogenide thin films

Feinäugle, M., Sones, C.L., Koukharenko, E. and Eason, R.W. (2013) Fabrication of a thermoelectric generator on a polymer-coated substrate via laser-induced forward transfer of chalcogenide thin films. Smart Materials and Structures, 22 (11), [115023]. (doi:10.1088/0964-1726/22/11/115023).

Abstract

We have demonstrated the fabrication of a thermoelectric energy harvesting device via laser-induced forward transfer of intact solid thin films. Thermoelectric chalcogenide materials, namely bismuth telluride (Bi₂Te₃), bismuth selenide (Bi₂Se₃) and bismuth antimony telluride (Bi_0:5Sb_1:5Te₃), were sequentially printed using a nanosecond excimer laser onto an elastomeric polydimethylsiloxane-coated glass substrate to form thermocouples connected in series creating a thermoelectric generator. The resulting generator Seebeck coefficient and series resistance per leg pair were measured to be 0.17 mV K^-1 and 10 kilohms respectively. It was shown that laser-induced forward transfer allows device fabrication from inorganic semiconductor compounds on inexpensive elastic polymer substrates and demonstrates the ability to print materials with pre-defined thermoelectric properties. This allows the rapid manufacturing of a complete thermoelectric device on mm²-areas with µm-scale precision, without the need of further lithographic steps.

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Contributors

Author: R.W. Eason

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