FABRICATION OF NANOWIRE ARRAY COMPOSITES FOR THERMOELECTRIC POWER GENERATORS AND MICROCOOLERS

摘要

Methods for fabricating a nanowire array epoxy composite with high structural integrity and low effective thermal conductivity to achieve a power conversion efficiency goal of approximately 20% and power density of about 104 W/m2 with a maximum temperature below about 380� C. Further, a method includes fabricating a self-supporting thick 3-D interconnected nanowire array with high structural integrity and low effective thermal conductivity to achieve a power conversion efficiency goal of 20% and power density of about 104 W/m2 with a maximum temperature of about 700� C., the nanowire array having substantially only air between nanowires.