On-Chip Power Generation Using Ultrathin Thermoelectric Generators

2014 ◽  
Vol 137 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Owen Sullivan ◽  
Man Prakash Gupta ◽  
Saibal Mukhopadhyay ◽  
Satish Kumar
Keyword(s):  
Power Generation ◽  
Heat Flux ◽  
Power Consumption ◽  
Conversion Efficiency ◽  
Waste Heat ◽  
Total Power ◽  
Thermoelectric Generators ◽  
Electronic Package ◽  
Useful Power ◽  
On Chip

Thermoelectric generators (TEGs) can significantly improve the net power consumption and battery life of the low power mobile devices or high performance devices by generating power from their waste heat. Recent advancements also show that the ultrathin thermoelectric devices can be fabricated and integrated within a micro-electronic package. This work investigates the power generation by an ultrathin TEG embedded within a micro-electronic package considering several key parameters such as load resistance, chip heat flux, and proximity of the TEG to chip. The analysis shows that the power generation from TEGs increases with increasing background heat flux on chip or when TEGs are moved closer to the chip. An array of embedded TEGs is considered in order to analyze the influence of multiple TEGs on total power generation and conversion efficiency. Increasing the number of TEGs from one to nine increases the useful power generation from 72.9 mW to 378.4 mW but decreases the average conversion efficiency from 0.47% to 0.32%. The average power generated per TEG gradually decrease from 72.9 mW to 42.0 mW when number of TEGs is increased from one to nine, but the total useful power generated using nine TEGs is significant and emphasize the benefits of using embedded TEGs to reduce net power consumption in electronics packages.

Thermoelectric Generators Embedded in Microelectronic Chip

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Owen Sullivan ◽  
Saibal Mukhopadhyay ◽  
Satish Kumar
Keyword(s):  
Power Generation ◽  
Heat Flux ◽  
Power Consumption ◽  
Conversion Efficiency ◽  
Waste Heat ◽  
Average Power ◽  
Total Power ◽  
Battery Life ◽  
Thermoelectric Generators ◽  
Useful Power

Thermoelectric generators (TEGs) can significantly improve the net power consumption and battery life of the mobile devices or high performance devices by generating power from the waste heat of these devices. Recent advancements show that the ultrathin thermoelectric devices can be fabricated and integrated within a microelectronic package. This paper first investigates the power generation by a single ultrathin TEG embedded within a micro-electronic package considering several key factors such as load resistance, chip heat flux, and proximity of the TEG to chip. We observe that the power generation from TEGs increases with increasing background heat flux on chip or when TEGs are moved closer to the chip. After the investigation of a single TEG, an array of embedded TEGs is considered in order to analyze the influence of multiple TEGs on total power generation and conversion efficiency. Increasing the number of TEGs from one to nine increase the useful power generation from 72.9 mW to 378.4 mW but decreases the average conversion efficiency from 0.47% to 0.32%. This suggests that average power generated per TEG gradually decrease from 72.9 mW to 42.0 mW when number of TEGs is increased from one to nine. However, the total useful power generated using nine TEGs is significant and emphasize the benefits of using embedded TEGs to reduce net power consumption in electronics packages.

scholarly journals Study of the influence of material properties in the energy conversion process of thermoelectric generators for waste heat recovery applications

Respuestas ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Byron Medina-Delgado ◽  
Guillermo Valencia-Ochoa ◽  
Jorge Duarte-Forero
Keyword(s):  
Heat Flux ◽  
Energy Conversion ◽  
Conversion Efficiency ◽  
Material Properties ◽  
Waste Heat ◽  
Electrical Power ◽  
Energy Conversion Efficiency ◽  
Conversion Process ◽  
Thermoelectric Generators ◽  
Energy Conversion Process

The present study analyzed the effect of material properties in the energy conversion process of Thermoelectric Generators (TEGs). For the development of the study, two materials whose properties vary with respect to temperature (Bi0.4Sb1.6Te3 and Cu11NiSb4S13) and a material with constant properties (Bi2Te3) were analyzed. Through numerical simulation processes, each material was subjected to different temperature differences to monitor the effect on the electrical output power, heat flux, and energy conversion efficiency. The results showed that neglecting the temperature dependence produces higher or lower performance estimations depending on the temperature levels experienced by the TEG.  Overall, the material Bi2Te3 displayed 35% more electrical power output and conversion efficiency compared to the Bi0.4Sb1.6Te3 material. Therefore, considering the variability of thermoelectric materials demonstrated to be essential to obtain realistic process performance. Also, the heat flux produced by the Fourier effect presents the most significant impact on the electrical power generation of the TEG. Among materials with variable properties, the Bi0.4Sb1.6Te3 increases the conversion efficiency up to 25% compared to the Cu11NiSb4S13. In conclusion, the study of material properties using numerical simulations emerged as a robust and practical tool to evaluate TEG performance.

High efficiency GeTe-based materials and modules for thermoelectric power generation

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tong Xing ◽  
Qingfeng Song ◽  
Pengfei Qiu ◽  
Qihao Zhang ◽  
Ming Gu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Power Generation ◽  
Thermoelectric Power ◽  
Heat Recovery ◽  
Waste Heat Recovery ◽  
High Efficiency ◽  
Waste Heat ◽  
Thermoelectric Performance ◽  
Thermoelectric Generators ◽  
Thermoelectric Power Generation

GeTe-based materials have a great potential to be used in thermoelectric generators for waste heat recovery due to their excellent thermoelectric performance, but their module research is greatly lagging behind...

High Temperature Thermoelectric Auxiliary Power Unit for Automotive Applications

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leon M. Headings ◽  
Shawn Midlam-Mohler ◽  
Gregory N. Washington ◽  
Joseph P. Heremans
Keyword(s):  
Power Generation ◽  
Thermoelectric Power ◽  
Power Unit ◽  
Diesel Fuel ◽  
Thermoelectric Materials ◽  
Waste Heat ◽  
Thermoelectric Device ◽  
Thermoelectric Generators ◽  
Automotive Applications ◽  
Auxiliary Power

While the thermoelectric effects have been known for over 100 years, their traditionally low conversion efficiency for power generation has limited their use to highly specialized applications. With the rapid advancement of thermoelectric materials in recent years, their inherent reliability and power density is being augmented by improvements in efficiency. Recent increases in the figure of merit of materials suitable for operation around 500 °C make them candidates for waste heat recovery, as well as primary power using combustion heaters. The characteristic scalability of thermoelectric generators makes them best suited for low power applications where alternative generators become impractical. However, with the development of thermoelectric device technology in parallel with materials advancements, it may become viable to design thermoelectric generators for auxiliary power in automotive applications. The research presented here represents the initial stages of the development of a thermoelectric power unit (TEPU). While thermoelectric generator technology can be applied to any fuel, this research targets the use of diesel fuel which is readily available for both military and consumer applications and is more easily and safely transported than many alternatives. The use of diesel fuel for a TEPU is enabled by the use of an atomizer technology developed at The Ohio State University Center for Automotive Research. A baseline prototype incorporating this novel diesel fuel atomizer/combustor with conventional thermoelectric materials and heat exchange designs has been constructed and tested. Preliminary data highlights the viability of diesel fuel for thermoelectric power generation as well as the areas which demand further development. This prototype will serve as the baseline for evaluating future designs incorporating advanced materials and novel system designs.

A SAT-Based Methodology for Effective Clock Gating for Power Minimization

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (01) ◽  
pp. 1950011
Author(s):  
Khushbu Chandrakar ◽  
Suchismita Roy
Keyword(s):  
Power Consumption ◽  
Optimization Techniques ◽  
Total Power ◽  
Clock Signal ◽  
Clock Gating ◽  
Clock Tree ◽  
Synchronous Circuits ◽  
Design And Optimization ◽  
Total Power Consumption ◽  
On Chip

A possible solution to handle the rising complexity of modern Systems-on-Chip (SoCs) is to raise the level of abstraction for the design and optimization. A better optimization of performance and power can be achieved at higher abstraction levels by applying suitable optimization techniques. Insertion of clock gating logic into the generated Register-Transfer Level (RTL) would facilitate lowering dynamic power consumption by switching off the clock signal to portions of the circuit not currently in use and thereby reducing unnecessary toggling. In this work, we have tried to minimize the power consumption of synchronous circuits by reducing the number of activity string patterns. Activity-driven clock trees have been used wherein sections of the clock tree are turned off by gating the clock signals. Since gating the clock signal implies additional control signals and gates, there is always a trade-off existing between the logic circuit area overhead and the total power consumption of the clock tree. A pseudo-Boolean satisfiability (PB-SAT)-based approach is proposed in this work which focuses on the reduction of power consumption by reducing the activity pattern of the clock tree which will reduce the power consumption with appropriate module-binding solutions.

scholarly journals Modeling and simulation of a segmented thermoelectric generator

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Qiuyi Su
Keyword(s):  
Simulation Model ◽  
Output Power ◽  
Conversion Efficiency ◽  
Heat Recovery ◽  
Waste Heat Recovery ◽  
Waste Heat ◽  
Original Model ◽  
Thermoelectric Generators ◽  
Working Temperature ◽  
General Method

Interest in thermoelectric generators for waste heat recovery has flourished in recent years. Typically, the efficiency of thermoelectric generators (TEGs) is quite low. Investigations are conducted in this thesis to get better performance and efficiency. The segmented leg generator is investigated as it is a promising method to increase a conventional TEGs' efficiency. This project presents the simulation model of a TEG with eight pairs of segmented legs. The simulation model is built with exactly the same materials and the same size as a physical TEG reported in the literature. Then the simulation model is compared with the prototype physical model to testify the accuracy of the simulation. The error between them is around 10 percent which is acceptable. After achieving the model of a segmented TEG, several methods are explored to improve its output power and conversion efficiency. Those methods include raising the working temperature, replacing the thermoelectric materials and reconfiguring the TEG geometry. It was found that the original model can be further optimized. After optimization, the output power increases from 188.2mW to 354.7mW, 703.13mW, and 212.85mW, respectively. Conversion efficiency increases from 1.66 percent to 2.08 percent, 7.03 percent, and 1.85 percent, respectively. Finally, a general method to design a segmented TEG is developed, using all knowledge gained from the computer simulations.

The Possibility of mW/cm2-Class On-Chip Power Generation Using Ultrasmall Si Nanowire-Based Thermoelectric Generators

2018 ◽  
Vol 65 (5) ◽  
pp. 2016-2023 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hui Zhang ◽  
Taiyu Xu ◽  
Shuichiro Hashimoto ◽  
Takanobu Watanabe
Keyword(s):  
Power Generation ◽  
Thermoelectric Generators ◽  
Si Nanowire ◽  
On Chip

scholarly journals Research and Development of Ship Waste Heat Driven S-CO2 Power Generation Coupled T-CO2 Refrigeration System

2020 ◽  
Vol 194 ◽  
pp. 01036
Author(s):  
Min Li ◽  
Yongqian Zhang ◽  
Youjian Wu ◽  
Ruitao Chen ◽  
Qianxi Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Power Generation ◽  
Energy Saving ◽  
Waste Heat ◽  
Total Power ◽  
Thermal Calculation ◽  
Refrigeration System ◽  
Combined System ◽  
Exhaust Temperature ◽  
Fishing Boat ◽  
Total Power Consumption

Most of the exhaust temperature of ships is above 300℃, usually this part of waste heat would be directly discharged into the environment, not fully utilized. In order to improve the energy efficiency ratio of ship storage and transportation more effectively, domestic and foreign counterparts have done a lot of technical research on the recovery and utilization of ship waste heat, but most of them are based on a single application perspective. Emphasizing the application of multi-angle combined waste heat, driven by waste heat for CO2 supercritical power generation coupling trans-critical refrigeration system was proposed and designed. While the combined system recovered waste heat for power generation, the functions of refrigerating cooling and seawater desalination were realized by using the properties of CO2 working medium. Taking Fuyuan Yu 7861 ocean-going fishing boat as a design case, the relevant thermal calculation and equipment matching of CO2 supercritical power-transcritical refrigeration system driven by waste heat recovery were targeted. The results showed that the total power consumption of the system is 34.171KW, the waste heat power generation efficiency is 12.9%, the refrigeration performance coefficient is 2.368, the energy saving effect is remarkable, and the energy saving and emission reduction are realized.

Computational Modeling of a Commercial Seebeck Module

2014 ◽  
Vol 605 ◽  
pp. 645-648
Author(s):  
D. Kossivakis ◽  
Clio G. Vossou
Keyword(s):  
Power Generation ◽  
Computational Modeling ◽  
Waste Heat ◽  
Open Circuit ◽  
Thermoelectric Generators ◽  
Generation System ◽  
Solid State Devices ◽  
Power Generation System ◽  
Industrial Sources ◽  
Ansys Workbench

This paper investigates computationally the performance of a commercially available Seebeck module under open circuit conditions. Seebeck modules, also called thermoelectric generators, are solid state devices used for power generation purposes. One of the most attractive applications of these devices is the exploitation of waste heat vastly available through various environmental or industrial sources. A Seebeck module can be used as a stand-alone device or as a part of a bigger power generation system. Device computational modeling has been performed using ANSYS Workbench (v. 14.0).

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document