GaN-Based Integrated Lateral Thermoelectric Device for Micro-Power Generation

Lateral thermoelectric devices were fabricated using c-plane GaN thin films grown on sapphire by MOCVD. The device design is appropriate for on-chip integration for power generation in the 1 V and tens of mu A range. The fabricated devices were measured to have a maximum open circuit voltage of 0.3 V with a maximum output power of 2.1 mu W (= 0.15V x 14 mu A) at a relatively small temperature difference (Delta T) of 30 K and an average temperature (T-avg) of 508 K. In addition, the suitability of GaN for high temperature thermoelectric applications was confirmed by measurements at 825 K. (C) 2009 The Japan Society of Applied Physics