A bulk micromachined silicon thermopile with high sensitivity

Abstract Sensitive, free-standing micromachined thermopiles have been realized in silicon by taking advantage of the high, inverse Seebeck effects of n- and p-type silicon. The thermopiles are easily fabricated with a minimal amount of microfabrication by interlocking and bonding an array of n- and p-type microjoints that are either cut or etched into silicon wafers. Prototype thermopile arrays of 35–92 couples have been fabricated and show temperature sensitivities between 19 and 45 mV/°C, respectively. It is estimated that thermopiles with as many as 1000 junctions may be produced using this fabrication method, with resulting sensitivities as high as 500 mV/°C.

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