Advances in thermoelectricity could light up the Internet of Things

Imagine red lights and cars communicating with each other to optimize traffic flow. This is not science fiction, but the Internet of Things (IoT), that is, objects that sense their environment and react via the Internet. As the world’s population grows and these technologies continue to develop, you may be wondering: what will power the digital world of tomorrow?

Wind, solar, yes. However, something around us may not immediately come to mind: heat. However, in a study recently published in Natural communications, a multi-institutional research team including Osaka University, has unveiled a breakthrough in clean energy: significantly improved thermoelectric conversion. One of its many potential applications? That’s right, IoT.

Large-scale global integration of IoT is limited by the lack of adequate energy supply. In reality, energy supply for IoT must be local and small-scale. Miniaturization of thermoelectric conversion can help solve this energy supply problem by using otherwise waste heat from microelectronics as a source of electricity. However, for practical applications, the current conversion efficiency of thermoelectric energy is insufficient. Improving this efficiency was the goal of the research team’s study.

“In our work, we demonstrate a two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) system with multiple sub-bands that uses gallium arsenide. The system is different from conventional thermoelectric conversion methods,” explain authors Yuto Uematsu and Yoshiaki Nakamura. main and main. of the study. “Our system facilitates better conversion of temperature (heat) into electricity and improves the mobility of electrons in their 2D sheet. This easily benefits everyday devices like semiconductors.”

Incredibly, the researchers were able to improve the power factor of thermoelectric conversion by a factor of 4 compared to conventional 2DEG systems. Other technologies, such as resonant diffusion, have not been as effective for thermoelectric conversion.

The team’s findings could pave the way for a sustainable energy source for the IoT. Thin thermoelectric films on gallium arsenide substrates would be suitable for IoT applications. For example, these could power environmental monitoring systems in remote locations or wearable devices for medical monitoring.

“We are excited because we have developed the principles of a crucial process for clean energy and sustainable IoT development,” says lead author Yoshiaki Nakamura. “Moreover, our methodology can be applied to any element-based material; the practical applications are vast.”

This work represents an important advance in maximizing the utility of thermoelectric power generation in modern microelectronics and is particularly suited to IoT. As the results are not limited to gallium arsenide, other system advancements are possible, with sustainability and IoT potentially greatly benefiting.