Energy Harvesting Using Thermoelectric Microgenerators: A Critical Analysis

Miniaturized thermoelectric power generators, which are able to convert waste heat into a few microwatts or milliwatts of electrical energy, seem to be particularly attractive for the autonomous power supply of microelectronic circuitry without the use of batteries. However, the conversion efficiencies achieved so far are very small. A critical analysis shows that there is still a certain potential for improvements toward the theoretical limits, but that some expectations seem questionable in view of the physical and technological limitations.