Power enhancement of micro thermoelectric generators by microfluidic heat transfer packaging

This paper reports on the design, fabrication and proof of concept of a multilayer fluidic packaging system enabling an increase in the output power performance of micro thermoelectric generators (μTEGs). The complete integration of the microfluidic heat transfer system (μHTS) with a μTEG is successfully demonstrated. The fabricated prototype is characterized with respect to its thermal and hydrodynamic performance as well as the generated output power. At a very low pumping power of 0.073 mW/cm2, a heat transfer resistance of 0.74 cm2 K/W is reached. The assembled device generated up to 1.47 mW/cm2 at an applied temperature difference of 50 K and a fluid flow rate of 0.1 l/min. Further system improvements and the potential of the proposed packaging approach are discussed. © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.