Chip-scale thermal energy harvester using Bi2Te3

Chip-scale thermoelectric energy harvester designs based on Bi₂Te₃ are presented with a focus on improving power density per device area for applications exchanging heat with ambient air through a heat sink. Practical vacuum capping is found to be beneficial for improving energy density despite the additional shunt created by the bonding ring around the 10mm² harvester chip. Optimized device performance is predicted to significantly exceed that of commercially available devices with much lower thermoelectric leg length.