• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.119-128
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• 2022

Recent advancement of Internet of Things (IoT) and energy harvesting technology enable realization of flexible thermoelectric energy harvester (f-TEH), with technological prowess for use in biomedical monitoring system integrated applications. To expand a flexible thermoelectric energy harvesting platform, the f-TEH must be required for optimized flexible thermoelectric materials and device structure. In response to these demands related to thermoelectric energy harvesting, many research groups have investigated various f-TEHs applied as a power source for wearable electronics. As a key member of the f-TEH, film-based f-TEHs possess significant applicability in research to realize self-powered wearable electronics, owing to their excellent flexibility, low thermal conductivity, and convenient fabrication process. Thus, based on the rapid growth of thermoelectric film technology, this review aims to overview comprehensively the f-TEH made of various inorganic/organic thermoelectric materials including developed fabrication methods, high thermoelectric performance, and wide-range applications.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2009.06a
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• pp.212-212
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• 2009

Thermoelectric devices were used to wide range of application. At present, increasing the efficiency of these devices, in particular, through the preparation of materials showing a high thermoelectric figure of merit, Z, $Bi_2Te_3$ and $Sb_2Te_3$ thin films on Si substrates are deposited by flash evaporation method for thermopile sensor applications. In order to enhance the thermoelectric properties of the thin film, annealing in high vacuum is carried out in the temperature range from 200 to $350^{\circ}C$. The microstructure of the film is investigated by XRD and SEM. The resistivity and Seebeck coefficient of the films are measured by Van der Pauw method and hot probe method respectively. At elevating annealing temperature, the crystallinity and thermoelectrical properties of films are improved by increasing the size of grains. At excessive high annealing temperatures, it is shown that Seebeck coefficient of films is decreased because of Te evaporation. By optimizing the annealing conditions, it is possible to obtain a high performance thin film with a thermoelectric properties.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.17-21
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• 2017

Horizontal thin-film thermoelectric cooler has been simulated using a commercial software (ANSYS Workbench Thermal-electric). The thermoelectric cooler consists of thin-film n-type $Bi_2Te_3$, p-type $Sb_2Te_3$ thermoelectric elements, and Au electrode, respectively. The hot spot was placed under the center of device which represents Joule heating. Numerical analysis was conducted by geometric variable, and a maximum temperature difference of $13^{\circ}C$ was obtained. As from the simulation parameters, we presented an optimized design for high efficiency cooling.

• JSTS:Journal of Semiconductor Technology and Science
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.18-23
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• 2012

We propose and implement a single-wire communication protocol for thermal management systems using thin film thermoelectric modules for 3D IC cooling. The proposed single-wire communication protocol connects the temperature sensors, located near hot spots, to measure the local temperature of the chip. A unique ID number identifying the location of each hot spot is assigned to each temperature sensor. The prototype chip was fabricated by a $0.13{\mu}m$ CMOS MPW process, and the operation of the chip is verified.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2009.04b
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• pp.17-17
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• 2009

We report the invention of a direct growth method termed On-Film Formation of Nanowire (OFF-ON) for making high-quality single-crystal nanowires, i.e. Bi and $Bi_2Te_3$, without the use of conventional templates, catalysts, or starting materials. We have used the OFF-ON technique to grow single crystal semi-metallic Bi and compound semiconductor $Bi_2Te_3$ nanowires from sputtered Bi and BiTe films after thermal annealing, respectively. The mechanism for nanowire growth is stress-induced mass flow along grain boundaries in the polycrystalline films. OFF-ON is a simple but powerful method for growing perfect single-crystal semi-metallic and compound semiconductor nanowires of high aspect ratio with high crystallinity that distinguishes it from other competitive growth approaches that have been developed to date. Our results suggest that Bi and $Bi_2Te_3$ nanowires grown by OFF-ON can be an ideal material system for exploring their unique thermoelectric properties due to their high-quality single crystalline and high conductivity, which have consequence and relevance for high-efficiency thermoelectric devices.

• The Transactions of The Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers
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• v.65 no.4
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• pp.611-616
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• 2016

In this study, we synthesized $Ag_2Se$ nanoparticles (NPs) in an aqueous solution and investigated the thermoelectric characteristics of $Ag_2Se$ NPs thin films on plastic substrates. Regardless of thermal annealing treatment, all the $Ag_2Se$ NPs thin films show the negative Seebeck coefficients, indicating the n-type characteristics. As the annealing temperature increases, the electric conductivity increases while the Seebeck coefficient decreases. The electric conductivity of the thin film annealed at $180^{\circ}C$ is larger by $10^6$ times, compared with the as-prepared thin film, And the maximum power density for the thin film annealed at $180^{\circ}C$ is calculated to be $44{\mu}W/cm^2$.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.14 no.2 s.43
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• pp.9-15
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• 2007

Thermoelectric properties of the electrodeposited Bi-Te films and photoresist process have been investigated to apply for thermoelectric thin film devices. After plating in Bi-Te solutions of 20 mM concentration, which were prepared by dissolving $Bi_2O_3$ and $TeO_2$ into 1M $HNO_3$, thermoelectric properties of the films were characterized with variation of the Te/(Bi+Te) ratio in a plating solution. With increasing the Te/(Bi+Te) ratio in the plating solution from 0.5 to 0.65, Seebeck coefficient of Bi-Te films changed from $-59{\mu}V/K$ to $-48{\mu}V/K$ and electrical resistivity was lowered from $1m{\Omega}-cm$ to $0.8m{\Omega}-cm$ due to the increase in the electron concentration. Maximum power factor of $3.5{\times}10^{-4}W/K^2-m$ was obtained for the Bi-Te film with the $Bi_2Te_3$ stoichiometric composition. Using multilayer overhang process, the photoresist pattern to form thermoelectric legs of 30 m depth and 100m diameter was successfully fabricated fur micro thermoelectric device applications.

• Journal of the Korean Vacuum Society
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.180-185
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• 2006

Microwatt power level at relatively high voltage(order of volt) was produced by $Bi_{0.5}Sb_{1.5}Te_{3}/Bi_{2}Te_{2.4}Se_{0.6}$ thin film thermoelectric generators, and maximum output power varied with temperature difference in the square-law relation. Output voltage and current were possible to control by changing the way of electrical connection as well as the number of stacking plate-modules. Variation of open circuit voltage and short circuit current with temperature difference showed a linear relationship. There were, however, some differences in variations; open circuit voltage were dependent on the number of plate-module when connected in series, but it was not for parallel connection. On the other hand, short circuit current showed the opposite behavior to the case of open circuit current.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.67-74
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• 2018

Thermoelectric thin film devices of the in-plane configuration consisting of 8 pairs of n-type $Bi_2Te_3$ and p-type $Sb_2Te_3$ legs were processed on Si submounts by electrodeposition. The thermoelectric generation characteristics of the thin film devices were investigated with respect to the apparent temperature difference ${\Delta}T$ caused by LED lighting as well as the change of the leg thickness. When ${\Delta}T$ was 7.4 K, the open circuit voltages of 6.1 mV, 7.4 mV, and 11.8 mV and the maximum output powers of 6.6 nW, 12.8 nW, and 41.9 nW were measured for the devices with the thermoelectric legs of which thickness were $2.5{\mu}m$, $5{\mu}m$, and $10{\mu}m$, respectively.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Surface Engineering Conference
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• 2018.06a
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• pp.52-52
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• 2018

Only approximately 30% of fossil fuel energy is used; therefore, it is desirable to utilize the huge amounts of waste energy. Thermoelectric (TE) materials that convert heat into electrical power are a promising energy technology. The TE materials can be formed either as thin films or as bulk semiconductors. Generally, thin-film TE materials have low energy conversion rates due to their thinness compared to that in bulk. However, an advantage of a thin-film TE material is that the efficiency can be smartly engineered by controlling the nanostructure and composition. Especially nanostructured TE thin films are useful for mitigating heating problems in highly integrated microelectronic devices by accurately controlling the temperature. Hence, there is a rising interest in thin-film TE devices. These devices have been extensively investigated. It is demonstrated that transparent amorphous oxide semiconductors (TAOS) can be excellent thermoelectric (TE) materials, since their thermal conductivity (${\kappa}$) through a randomly disordered structure is quite low, while their electrical conductivity and carrier mobility (${\mu}$) are high, compared to crystalline semiconductors through the first-principles calculations and the various measurements for the amorphous In-Zn-O (a-IZO) thin film. The calculated phonon dispersion in a-IZO shows non-linear phonon instability, which can prevent the transport of phonon. The a-IZO was measured to have poor ${\kappa}$ and high electrical conductivity compared to crystalline $In_2O_3:Sn$ (c-ITO). These properties show that the TAOS can be an excellent thin-film transparent TE material. It is suggested that the TAOS can be employed to mitigate the heating problem in the transparent display devices.