Thermoelectric energy conversion: How good can silicon be?

Lack of materials which are thermoelectrically efficient and economically attractive is a challenge in thermoelectricity. Silicon could be a good thermoelectric material offering CMOS compatibility, harmlessness and cost reduction but it features a too high thermal conductivity. High harvested power density of 7 W/cm(2) at Delta T= 30 K is modeled based on a thin-film lateral architecture of thermo-converter that takes advantage of confinement effects to reduce the thermal conductivity. The simulation leads to the conclusion that 10 nm thick Silicon has 10 x higher efficiency than bulk. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.