Thermoelectric pellets made of Si nanowires (Presentation Recording)

Although semiconductor wires exhibit unique properties that would benefit a range of devices, implementation of as-grown wires in a device brings challenges, in particular, for those that require large volume (e.g. thermoelectric (TE) devices). Therefore, a post-growth assembly of sub-micrometer-scale wires into a centimeter-scale structure would open new module architecture. In this paper, TE devices in the form of pellet (~1cm diameter) made of aggregated silicon (Si) wires will be described. Numerous Si wires were assembled into a 3D network with dimensions defined by a quartz ampule. Power generation was demonstrated at operational temperatures ~80°C and the performance was generalized for higher operational temperatures ~800°C.