The high performance of a thin film thermoelectric generator with heat flow running parallel to film surface

In conventional thin film thermoelectric generators, heat flow running vertical to film surface is used. The hot side and the cold side are just separated by the thickness of the films and to maintain the temperature difference between both sides remains a key challenge. Here, we demonstrate the properties of our designed thin film thermoelectric generators with heat flow running parallel to film surface, where a larger temperature difference between both sides is maintained. The maximum output power of our generator can reach 19.13 mu W at the temperature difference of 85 K. (C) 2013 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4788817]