Assessment on thermoelectric power factor in silicon nanowire networks

Thermoelectric devices based on three-dimensional networks of highly interconnected silicon nanowires were fabricated and the parameters that contribute to the power factor, namely the Seebeck coefficient and electrical conductivity were assessed. The large area (2 cm × 2 cm) devices were fabricated at low cost utilizing a highly scalable process involving silicon nanowires grown on steel substrates. Temperature dependence of the Seebeck coefficient was found to be weak over the range of 20–80 °C at approximately −400 µV/K for unintentionally doped devices and ±50 µV/K for p-type and n-type devices, respectively.

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