The disposal of waste heat from electronic equipment has become a major problem. It may damage electronic components and it means that a lot of energy is wasted. Scientists at UC Berkeley have developed a nanotechnology that can recover waste heat from electronic devices. Thin film, which can be embedded inside a computer, car or factory, recovers energy from waste heat and generates electricity.
The current widespread energy recovery system generally operates on the principle of thermoelectricity and requires a relatively high temperature difference. However, UC Berkeley’s research team hopes to develop a device capable of recovering internal low-quality waste heat, capable of recovering waste heat below 100 degrees Celsius. Objectives, The research team developed a thin film based on the principle of pyroelectric energy conversion. It can operate at lower temperature and lower temperature environment. This is an ideal material for electrical components.
Researcher senior author Lane Martin said 'We all want to find new energy sources, but how to make better use of existing energy is also very necessary. These thin films can help us extract more energy from daily energy sources.'
The team built a prototype device that relied on a 50-100 nm thick film and was able to achieve a pyroelectric energy conversion energy density of up to 1.06 Joules per cubic centimeter, a power density of 526 watts per cubic centimeter and a Carnot efficiency of up to 19%. , This is the highest efficiency record in power generation devices that convert energy through pyroelectricity. The research says that the prototype equipment is being improved, and ultimately hopes that these thin films can be optimized for individual systems to create devices that can efficiently recover waste heat and generate electricity.
