Open AccessA miniaturized mW thermoelectric generator for nw objectives: continuous, autonomous, reliable power for decades.
Author(s) -
T. L. Aselage,
Michael P. Siegal,
Scott Whalen,
S. Frédérick,
Christopher A. Apblett,
Matthew W. Moorman
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
osti oai (u.s. department of energy office of scientific and technical information)
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Reports
DOI - 10.2172/899375
Subject(s) - thermoelectric generator , electrical engineering , microelectronics , power (physics) , voltage , usable , resistive touchscreen , generator (circuit theory) , thermoelectric effect , maximum power principle , power density , engineering , materials science , computer science , physics , quantum mechanics , world wide web , thermodynamics
We have built and tested a miniaturized, thermoelectric power source that can provide in excess of 450 {micro}W of power in a system size of 4.3cc, for a power density of 107 {micro}W/cc, which is denser than any system of this size previously reported. The system operates on 150mW of thermal input, which for this system was simulated with a resistive heater, but in application would be provided by a 0.4g source of {sup 238}Pu located at the center of the device. Output power from this device, while optimized for efficiency, was not optimized for form of the power output, and so the maximum power was delivered at only 41mV. An upconverter to 2.7V was developed concurrently with the power source to bring the voltage up to a usable level for microelectronics
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