On-Chip Sensing of Thermoelectric Thin Film’s Merit

Thermoelectric thin films have been widely explored for thermal-to-electrical energy conversion or solid-state cooling, because they can remove heat from integrated circuit (IC) chips or micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) devices without involving any moving mechanical parts. In this paper, we report using silicon diode-based temperature sensors and specific thermoelectric devices to characterize the merit of thermoelectric thin films. The silicon diode temperature sensors and thermoelectric devices were fabricated using microfabrication techniques. Specifically, e-beam evaporation was used to grow the thermoelectric thin film of Sb(2)Te(3) (100 nm thick). The Seebeck coefficient and the merit of the Sb(2)Te(3) thin film were measured or determined. The fabrication of silicon diode temperature sensors and thermoelectric devices are compatible with the integrated circuit fabrication.