Fabrication Strategy for a Thermoelectric Generator with Highaspect-ratio Thermolegs for Electrically Active Implants

Abstract:
Thermoelectric generators (TEGs) for electrically active implants require thermolegs with high aspect ratios to provide sufficient power and voltage for implantable medical devices. Such thermolegs need to be secured during assembly and soldering in the fabrication process. However, the auxiliary support structure for the thermolegs is not suitable due to heat flow diversion, which reduces the performance of the TEG. We propose a novel fabrication strategy for these TEGs, which allows the thermolegs to stand freely with the help of a detachable assembly mechanism. We investigated the low temperature soldering process for a lead-free soldering material. We characterized the fabricated TEGs and estimated their performance in the implantation scenario by means of finite element model simulations.