Department of Engineering Sciences, The Ångström Laboratory, Uppsala University , SE-751 21 Uppsala, Sweden.
Department of Microtechnology and Nanoscience (MC2), Chalmers University of Technology , Kemivägen 9, SE-412 96 Gothenburg, Sweden.
ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2017 May 10;9(18):15791-15797. doi: 10.1021/acsami.7b04752. Epub 2017 Apr 28.
Conventional thermoelectric generators (TEGs) are normally hard, rigid, and flat. However, most objects have curvy surfaces, which require soft and even stretchable TEGs for maximizing efficiency of thermal energy harvesting. Here, soft and stretchable TEGs using conventional rigid BiTe pellets metallized with a liquid alloy is reported. The fabrication is implemented by means of a tailored layer-by-layer fabrication process. The STEGs exhibit an output power density of 40.6 μW/cm at room temperature. The STEGs are operational after being mechanically stretched-and-released more than 1000 times, thanks to the compliant contact between the liquid alloy interconnects and the rigid pellets. The demonstrated interconnect scheme will provide a new route to the development of soft and stretchable energy-harvesting avenues for a variety of emerging electronic applications.
传统的热电发电机（TEG）通常是坚硬、刚性和平整的。然而，大多数物体都有弯曲的表面，这就需要柔软甚至可拉伸的 TEG 来最大限度地提高热能收集效率。在这里，报告了使用传统刚性 BiTe 颗粒与液态合金金属化的柔软可拉伸 TEG。该制造是通过定制的层层制造工艺实现的。STEGs 在室温下的输出功率密度为 40.6 μW/cm。由于液态合金互连和刚性颗粒之间的弹性接触，STEGs 在机械拉伸和释放超过 1000 次后仍能正常工作。所展示的互连方案将为各种新兴电子应用的柔软可拉伸能量收集途径的发展提供新途径。
