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Oriented Bi2Te3-based films enabled high performance planar thermoelectric cooling device for hot spot elimination
Guoying Dong1, Jianghe Feng1, Guojuan Qiu1
1Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Electronic Materials, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China.
Nature Communications
|November 8, 2024
Summary
Highly oriented bismuth telluride films grown with a liquid tellurium assistant method offer a promising solution for active thermal management in electronics. This technique enhances thermoelectric cooling performance, reducing hot spots effectively.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Solid State Physics
- Nanotechnology
Background:
- Increasing power density in integrated circuits necessitates advanced thermal management solutions.
- Thermoelectric cooling offers active thermal management but is limited by film microstructure and device configuration.
- Planar thermoelectric devices on-chip heat dissipation potential remains underexploited.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop highly oriented thermoelectric films for enhanced on-chip heat dissipation.
- To investigate the impact of microstructure control on thermoelectric performance.
- To demonstrate the efficacy of planar thermoelectric devices for integrated circuit thermal management.
Main Methods:
- Utilizing a liquid tellurium assistant growth method to produce highly (00l) oriented Bi2Te3-based films.
- Fabricating planar thermoelectric devices using these oriented films.
- Conducting hot spot elimination experiments to evaluate device performance.
Main Results:
- Achieved highly (00l) oriented Bi2Te3-based films comparable to single crystals.
- Obtained high in-plane thermoelectric figure of merit (zT) values: ~1.53 for p-type Bi0.4Sb1.6Te3 and ~1.10 for n-type Bi2Te3 films.
- Demonstrated a significant temperature reduction of ~8.2 K in hot spot elimination experiments using planar devices.
Conclusions:
- The liquid tellurium assistant growth method effectively produces oriented thermoelectric films.
- High orientation and controlled microstructure (excess Te-induced stacking faults) enhance thermoelectric properties.
- The developed planar thermoelectric devices show great potential for next-generation integrated circuit thermal management.
