STTR Phase I: Bulk Nanostructured Thermoelectric Alloys for Enhanced Efficiency

小型企业技术转移研究(STTR)第一阶段项目将把两类纳米复合材料结合在一起，并通过压力辅助烧结技术将它们结合成单一的块体材料组件。这两类材料分别表现出热电行为，本研究的目的之一是评估块体复合材料的综合热电性能。TE材料具有从各种来源收集废热并将热能转化为电能的巨大潜力。这种替代能源的获取是寻求化石燃料能源解决方案的一个主要问题。以前的研究表明，薄膜中的TE材料在热捕获效率方面远远优于块体材料，因此，这项拟议的工作有可能提供一种可行的新能源。如果这项技术成功开发和实施，将在许多领域产生重大影响，如微电子中的固态冷却器。非常需要为现代微电子部件(例如，用于膝上型计算机和其他手持设备、红外成像系统、传感器的计算机芯片)、MEMS和NEMS设备以及其中设备尺寸随着功率密度持续增加而变得更小的其他应用提供高效冷却。实现所需的热提取效率的一大障碍一直是当前设备的低转换效率。这项拟议的技术有望通过使用一种新型的双相纳米复合材料来实现这些目标。微电子制冷器和热泵代表着一个重要的全球市场，如果成功，这项技术有可能抢占相当大的市场份额。

The Small Business Technology Transfer Research (STTR) Phase I project will combine two classes of nanocomposite materials and combine them into a single bulk material component by pressure-assisted sintering technique. The two classes of materials individually exhibit thermoelectric (TE) behavior, and one goal of this research would be to evaluate the combined TE characteristics of the bulk composite. TE materials have great potential for harvesting waste heat from various sources and use it to convert the thermal energy into electricity. The capture of this alternative energy source is a major issue in the search for solutions to energy derived from fossil fuels. Previous research has shown that TE materials in the thin-film are far superior to bulk materials in their heat capture efficiency and, thus, this proposed work has the potential to provide a viable new source of power.The broader impacts of this technology, if successfully developed and implemented, would significantly impact in many areas, such as solid-state coolers in microelectronics. There is a great need to provide highly efficient cooling of modern microelectronic components (e.g., computer chip used in laptop computers and other hand held devices, IR imaging systems, sensors), MEMS and NEMS devices and other applications where the size of the device gets smaller as the power density continues to increase. The big hurdle in achieving the needed heat extraction efficiency has been the low conversion efficiency of current devices. The proposed technology has the promise of meeting these goals with the use of a novel dual-phase nanocomposite material. The microelectronic coolers and heat pumps represent a significant global market, and this technology has the potential to grab a sizable share of this market, if successful.