Thermoelectric generator device based on carbon nanotube membrane

Author

Wenbin Huang ; Guanglong Wang ; Jianglei Lu ; Fengqi Gao ; Zhongtao Qiao ; Lianfeng Sun

Author_Institution

Inst. of Nanotechnol. & Microsyst., Mech. Eng. Coll., Shijiazhuang, China

fYear

2013

fDate

5-8 Aug. 2013

Firstpage

946

Lastpage

949

Abstract

A novel type of thermoelectric generator device (TEGD) based on carbon nanotube (CNT) membrane is introduced to realize the self-powered function of nano/micro electromechanical systems (N/MEMS) in some special environments. The TEGD unit is composed of an n-type CNT membrane and a p-type one connected in series. When temperature gradient exists between both ends of the TEGD unit, electric potential difference will generate. The TEGD is formed through connecting several TEGD units in series to get enough electric power. In the paper, CNT membranes of the TEGD are synthesized by the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method and the TEGD properties are researched in detail. Experimental results demonstrated that the TEGD has much use value and bright application prospect in the future.

Keywords

carbon nanotubes; chemical vapour deposition; electric potential; membranes; micromechanical devices; nanoelectromechanical devices; nanofabrication; nanotube devices; thermoelectric conversion; thermoelectric devices; C; chemical vapor deposition method; electric potential difference; electric power; microelectromechanical system; n-type carbon nanotube membrane; nanoelectromechanical system; self-powered function; temperature gradient; thermoelectric generator device properties; thermoelectric generator device unit; Biomembranes; Carbon nanotubes; Generators; Heating; Photonics; Resistance; CNT membrane; CVD; TEGD; Thermoelectric; potential difference;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Nanotechnology (IEEE-NANO), 2013 13th IEEE Conference on

Conference_Location

Beijing

ISSN

1944-9399

Print_ISBN

978-1-4799-0675-8

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/NANO.2013.6721002

Filename

6721002