Nano Thermoelectric Generator for Wireless & Biomedical Sensors

Abstract

This paper proposes a nano energy harvester based on temperature gradient using thermoelectric materials. Thermoelectric generator (TEG) produces electrical energy from temperature difference. In this paper, the device is designed in planar geometrical shape for the ease of fabrication. Bi2Te3 is considered for p and n-type legs of thermoelectric generator due to its high seebeck coefficient. The thermocouple is designed in nano-scale (1nm, 1nm, 6nm) to miniaturize the energy harvester. The result shows an open circuit voltage of 4mV from a single thermocouple. The main scope of this designed device is to provide power to wireless, biomedical and IoT sensors which consumes less energy to operate. Simulation of this research work has been done in COMSOL Multiphysics.