High Yield Self Assembly of Functional Thermoelectric Devices

该奖项的研究目标是提高微尺度自组装过程的速率和产量。 在自组装中，当通过混合或搅拌聚集在一起时，组件被设计为自发地结合。 组件组装的速率和工艺成品率取决于相互作用工艺的特性。 该研究方法将首先验证和完善单个自组装键的力和能量模型。 这些债券模型将提供关键的输入到一个随机过程模型，涉及可控的过程参数的过程速率和产量。 这些模型将通过组装功能微系统进行实验验证。微型热电制冷器。 微型热电冷却器将由高性能纳米结构热电材料组装而成，以验证模型的预测能力。 可验证的内容包括毛细管键合模型、一般自组装过程模型、实验模型验证、相关过程模型的生成过程、结果文档以及对K-12学生的教育推广。如果成功，这项研究的结果将使大规模集成的组件太小，无法使用当前的组装技术有效地拾取和操作。 这将通过集成新材料和设备来提高微系统的性能。 例如，可以集成更小的热电元件，以更有效地冷却电子和光子设备，并以更低的成本回收废热。 通过该项目开发的模型和构建方法可以适用于使用其他粘合类型和其他尺寸尺度的自组装。 从这项工作的例子将被纳入介绍给K-6学生，教有关能源的重要概念，并增加学生？认识到科学和工程在他们生活中的作用。 高中示范将被用来招募学生在夏季动手实验室工作的项目。 该项目的进展也将纳入研究生和本科课程。

The research objective of this award is increase rate and yield of microscale self-assembly processes. In self-assembly, components are designed to spontaneously bond when brought together as by mixing or agitation. The rate of component assembly and the process yield depend on the characteristics of the interaction processes. The research approach will first validate and refine force and energy models of individual self-assembly bonds. These bond models will provide key inputs into a stochastic process models that relate controllable process parameters to process rate and yield. The models will be experimentally validated through assembly of a function microsystem?a micro thermoelectric cooler. The micro thermoelectric cooler will be assembled from high performance nanostructured thermoelectric materials to validate the predictive capabilities of the models. Deliverables include capillary bond models, general self-assembly process models, experimental model validation, process of generating models of related processes, documentation of results, and educational outreach to K-12 students.If successful, the results of this research will enable large scale integration of components too small to effectively pick up and manipulate using current assembly techniques. This will improve performance of microsystems by enabling integration of new materials and devices. For example, smaller thermoelectric elements can be integrated for more efficient cooling of electronic and photonic equipment and lower cost recovery of waste heat. The models and the methods for building them developed through this project can be adapted to self-assembly using other bond types and at other size scales. Examples from this work will be incorporated into presentations to K-6 students to teach important concepts about energy and to increase students? recognition of the role science and engineering play in their lives. High school demonstrations will be used to recruit students for hands-on lab work on the project during the summers. Advances from this project will also be integrated into graduate and undergraduate courses.