Thermoelectric Devices for Power Generation: Recent Progress and Future Challenges

Thermoelectric (TE) devices for power generation have been attracting increasing attention on account of their advantages such as solid-state operation, good stability, and high reliability. This paper presents an overview of the design principle, fabrication methods and testing technology of TE power generation devices. Particular attention is paid to skutterudite-based devices regarding electrode fabrication, barrier layer design, interface optimization, protective coating, and evaluation of elements and modules. The development of Bi2Te3-based devices for power generation focusing specifically on the optimization of Bi2Te3/electrode joints and fabrication and evaluation of Bi2Te3-based modules is summarized. The future challenges concerning TE devices for power generation are discussed.