Planar-type thermoelectric micro devices using ceramic catalytic combustor

Thin-film couples of BiSbTe and Pt were deposited by RF sputtering and patterned by lift-off technique to form thermopile structures. To fabricate a planar micro-TE-generator, 11 thermopiles are connected in series as an array and Pt-loaded alumina ceramic catalyst was deposited on the thermopile as a combustor layer. The combustion and TE performance of the generator was investigated flowing 3 v/v% hydrogen in air into the test chamber; the average temperature gradient of eleven thermopiles developed between the hot and cold junctions of thermopiles was 50.6 K, and 1.9 μW of power was generated.