Design and Fabrication of CMOS-Based Thermoelectric Microgenerators With Enhanced Power Factor

This study focuses on the design and manufacturing of a thermoelectric microgenerator (TEMG) utilizing complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS)-microelectromechanical system (MEMS) technology. The TEMG features an innovative design with suspended hot-end thermocouples, created through a post-processing. This structural innovation enhances the temperature gradient across the thermocouples, leading to a substantial improvement in power factor of the TEMG. fabricated utilizing the standard CMOS process, the TEMG incorporates p-polysilicon and n-polysilicon thermocouples, ensuring precise fabrication and compact integration. Experimental results reveal that the voltage and power factors are 6.14 mV/mm²K and 0.61 nW/mm²K², respectively. The TEMG delivers a high power factor, making it a potential for applications in self-powered sensors.