Research on Photothermal Co-Analysis Model of a Thermoelectric–Photoelectric Power Generator

In this article, a novel co-analysis model for photovoltaic and thermoelectric is proposed. A newly developed experimental platform is presented to verify the theoretical results of the model. The manufacturing process of the integrated power generator is compatible with the CMOS process and MEMS technology. All analyses are based on the premise that light and heat act simultaneously on the integrated power generator. The modeling of the thermoelectric generator (TEG) shows that the imposition of sunlight will impact its output performance. The reason is that one portion of the solar energy will be converted into heat for the cold side of the thermal leg. Hence, a new structure of the TEG, which has longer thermal legs to reduce the area of the cold side, is tested in the experiment. The experimental results show that the output voltage per area of the thermocouple decreases linearly from 1.625 to 0.344 mV/cm2 with light enhancement when the temperature of the bottom is 60.25 °C. In the Section of the solar cell, the output performance remains relatively stable when the temperature of the chip varies.