All-Oxide p–n Junction Thermoelectric Generator Based on SnO x and ZnO Thin Films

• Published in: ACS applied materials & interfaces Vol. 13; no. 29; pp. 35187 - 35196
• Main Authors: Vieira, Eliana M. F, Silva, José P. B, Veltruská, Kateřina, Istrate, Cosmin M, Lenzi, Veniero, Trifiletti, Vanira, Lorenzi, Bruno, Matolín, Vladimír, Ghica, Corneliu, Marques, Luis, Fenwick, Oliver, Goncalves, Luis M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: American Chemical Society 28-07-2021
• Subjects: Surfaces, Interfaces, and Applications; TEGs; p−n junction; energy generation; all-oxide device; thermoelectricity; density functional theory
• ISSN: 1944-8244; 1944-8252
• DOI: 10.1021/acsami.1c09748

Achieving thermoelectric devices with high performance based on low-cost and nontoxic materials is extremely challenging. Moreover, as we move toward an Internet-of-Things society, a miniaturized local power source such as a thermoelectric generator (TEG) is desired to power increasing numbers of wireless sensors. Therefore, in this work, an all-oxide p–n junction TEG composed of low-cost, abundant, and nontoxic materials, such as n-type ZnO and p-type SnO x thin films, deposited on borosilicate glass substrate is proposed. A type II heterojunction between SnO x and ZnO films was predicted by density functional theory (DFT) calculations and confirmed experimentally by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Moreover, scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) combined with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) show a sharp interface between the SnO x and ZnO layers, confirming the high quality of the p–n junction even after annealing at 523 K. ZnO and SnO x thin films exhibit Seebeck coefficients (α) of ∼121 and ∼258 μV/K, respectively, at 298 K, resulting in power factors (PF) of 180 μW/m K2 (for ZnO) and 37 μW/m K2 (for SnO x ). Moreover, the thermal conductivities of ZnO and SnO x films are 8.7 and 1.24 W/m K, respectively, at 298 K, with no significant changes until 575 K. The four pairs all-oxide TEG generated a maximum power output (P out) of 1.8 nW (≈126 μW/cm2) at a temperature difference of 160 K. The output voltage (V out) and output current (I out) at the maximum power output of the TEG are 124 mV and 0.0146 μA, respectively. This work paves the way for achieving a high-performance TEG device based on oxide thin films.