Low cost Mg-based pn-junction thermoelectric generator for IoT sensors
摘要
This paper introduces a new, inexpensive, non-toxic Mg-based pn-junction thermoelectric generator. It is created by depositing Mg-CuI and Mg-MnO films on ITO and then analyzing their structural, morphological, and thermoelectric properties. SEM micrographs and X-ray diffractometry showed that both layers had higher the degree of crystallinity and uniform nano grains. The p-type (Mg-CuI) and n-type (Mg-MnO) characteristics were confirmed using a hot probe. This thermoelectric device uses the Seebeck effect for solid-state heat-to-electricity conversion. The measured emf for the Mg-CuI film was 5.9 mV/K and for the Mg-MnO film was 5 mV/K at 300 °C. The Seebeck coefficient values for Mg-CuI and Mg-MnO were calculated to be 214 and − 140μVK−1, respectively. The temperature dependence of thermoelectric power factor for Mg-CuI was 952 µWm−1 K−2and for Mg-MnO was 375 µWm−1 K−2. The Mg-based pn-junction generator produced an output voltage of 95.58 mV at 300 °C. It also generated a peak power of 1.141 nW, indicating its suitability for IoT sensor applications.