金属－絶縁体相転移材料を用いた電圧リミッタ機能を備えた熱電モジュール開発

抄録

Thermoelectric power generation attracts attention due to the possible application in power sources of IoT devices. The voltage fluctuation of thermoelectric power generation due to the fluctuation of temperature difference causes instability and decreased reliability of the devices. In this study, we propose thermoelectric module with voltage limiter function using a metal-insulator phase transition material. Vanadium dioxide VO₂ is one of metal-insulator phase transition materials, and its Seebeck coefficient is high in the low-temperature insulator phase and low in the metal phase. The output voltage of the thermoelectric module using VO₂ is expected to be constant regardless of temperature fluctuation in the temperature range where insulator and metal phases coexist in the material, i.e., it has voltage limiter function. This paper describes a study of the feasibility of this concept by thermoelectric property measurement and output power measurement.