Fabrication of nanopower generators using thin atomic layer deposited films

Infrared (IR) power generation is emerging as a useful method to harvest IR light and transform it into usable energy available day and night. Here, the authors continue the effort to fabricate thin thermoelectric TiO2/TiN nanolaminate films via atomic layer deposition (ALD) and, specifically, focus on the effects of film sheet resistance Rs on the voltage produced by nanopower generator devices with these films as their active elements. By changing the number and the thickness of the TiO2/TiN nanolaminate, the authors control the sheet resistance Rs over 3 orders of magnitude. The authors observe that the voltage produced by nanopower generator devices increases with Rs and exhibits two roughly linear regimes. In the first regime, when Rs   1 kΩ/◻, where the slope characterizing the increase of voltage with sheet resis...