Advancements in Thin-Film Thermoelectric Generator Design for Agricultural Applications

Thin-film thermoelectric generators (TFTEGs) emerge as critical components of self-sustaining agricultural systems because they can utilize temperature gradients to generate plant-transpiration-induced thermovoltage signal quantifiable to plant health status. This study examines the latest developments in TFTEG materials, device structures, manufacturing processes, and their integration into agricultural systems such as plant-wearable, canopy-level and stem-clipped TEGs. Key questions addressed include the ideal materials for TFTEG fabrication, their biocompatibility and eco-stability in agricultural settings, recent design and AI-assisted optimization advancements, and future research directions in non-conventional TEG applications. The analysis consolidates evidence from inorganic, organic, and hybrid thermoelectric materials with respect to performance in terms of flexibility, thermal stability, output power, and biocompatibility. Bibliometric analysis was employed to determine dominant research topics and gaps, especially with respect to sustainability and AI-augmented design. The review emphasizes the latest breakthroughs in structural optimization, flexible substrates, encapsulation strategies, and sensor integration for reliability enhancement in field environments. In addition, applications of AI, including neural network-based conditional Generative Adversarial Network, surrogate modeling, and multi-objective optimization, are discussed in relation to the improvement of thin-film TEG design and simulation processes. This study suggests that TFTEGs exhibit great potential in agricultural monitoring and plant wearable applications but material toxicity, mechanical degradation, and integration with AI are still major obstacles.