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Researchers have achieved a major advance in the development of materials suitable for on-chip energy harvesting. By composing an alloy made of silicon, germanium and tin, they were able to create a thermoelectric material, promising to transform the waste heat of computer processors 💻 back into electricity. ⚡ With all elements coming from the 4th main group of the periodic table, these new semiconductor alloy can be easily integrated into the CMOS process of chip production. The research findings made it onto the cover of the scientific journal ACS Applied Energy Materials. 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗮 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗼𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰 𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸? A thermoelectric element converts temperature differences directly into electrical energy. When there is a temperature gradient across a thermoelectric material, it induces a flow of charge carriers, generating electricity. This process can be used to capture and recycle waste heat in electronic devices, converting it back into usable energy and reducing overall energy consumption. For thermoelectric materials, lower thermal conductivity is desirable because it allows for a greater temperature gradient, which is essential for efficient energy conversion. GeSn alloys, with their reduced thermal conductivity, excel in creating this gradient, enhancing their thermoelectric performance. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gpUA3b-m Dan Buca Original publication: Room Temperature Lattice Thermal Conductivity of GeSn Alloys, by Omar Concepción, Jhonny Tiscareño-Ramírez, Ada Angela Chimienti, Thomas Classen, Agnieszka Anna Corley-Wiciak, Andrea Tomadin, Davide Spirito, Dario Pisignano, Patrizio Graziosi, Zoran Ikonic, Qing Tai Zhao, Detlev Grützmacher, Giovanni Capellini, Stefano Roddaro, Michele Virgilio*, and Dan Buca, ACS Appl. Energy Mater. 2024, 7, 10, 4394–4401, DOI: 10.1021/acsaem.4c00275 Bild: ACS Appl. Energy Mater. 2024, Volume 7, Issue 13 (CC-BY 4.0)

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