Interconnect patterns for printed organic thermoelectric devices with large fill factors
Abstract
Organic materials can be printed into thermoelectric (TE) devices for low temperature energy harvesting applications. The output voltage of printed devices is often limited by (i) small temperature differences across the active materials attributed to small leg lengths and (ii) the lower Seebeck coefficient of organic materials compared to their inorganic counterparts. To increase the voltage, a large number of p- and n-type leg pairs is required for organic TEs; this, however, results in an increased interconnect resistance, which then limits the device output power. In this work, we discuss practical concepts to address this problem by positioning TE legs in a hexagonal closed-packed layout. This helps achieve higher fill factors (∼91%) than conventional inorganic devices (∼25%), which ultimately results in higher voltages and power densities due to lower interconnect resistances. In addition, wiring the legs following a Hilbert spacing-filling pattern allows for facile load matching to each application. This is made possible by leveraging the fractal nature of the Hilbert interconnect pattern, which results in identical sub-modules. Using the Hilbert design, sub-modules can better accommodate non-uniform temperature distributions because they naturally self-localize. These device design concepts open new avenues for roll-to-roll printing and custom TE module shapes, thereby enabling organic TE modules for self-powered sensors and wearable electronic applications.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Sep 28, 2017
- Source ID
- 10.1063/1.4989589
Entities
People
- Akanksha K. Menon
- Kiarash Gordiz
- Shannon K Yee
Organizations
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- Georgia Tech
- PepsiCo
- Qatar Foundation