Effect of Annealing on the Thermoelectricity Properties of the WRe26-In2O3 Thin Film Thermocouples

Abstract

<jats:p>WRe26-In2O3 (WRe26 (tungsten-26% rhenium) and In2O3 thermoelectric materials) thin film thermocouples (TFTCs) have been fabricated based on magnetron sputtering technology, which can be used in temperature measurement. Many annealing processes were studied to promote the sensitivity of WRe26-In2O3 TFTCs. The optimal annealing process of the thermocouple under this kind of RF magnetron sputtering method was proposed after analyzing the properties of In2O3 films and the thermoelectric voltage of TFTCs at different annealing processes. The calibration results showed that the WRe26-In2O3 TFTCs achieved a thermoelectric voltage of 123.6 mV at a temperature difference of 612.9 K, with a sensitivity of up to 201.6 µV/K. Also, TFTC kept a stable thermoelectric voltage output at 973 K for 20 min and at 773 K for two hours. In general, the WRe26-In2O3 TFTCs developed in this work have great potential for practical applications. In future work, we will focus on the thermoelectric stability of TFTCs at higher temperatures.</jats:p>

Flexible thin film thermocouples: From structure, material, fabrication to application

“…In practice, it is often necessary to introduce another conductor to access the voltage signal. 39 , 40 , 41 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 65 , 73 , 79 , 80 , 81 , 82 , 83 , 84 , 85 , 86 , 87 , 88 , 89 …”

“…Typically, the response speed of TFTCs is in the millimeter range. 34 , 35 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 48 , 65 , 73 , 111 , 112 , 113 , 114 …”

“…Thermocouples are widely used in temperature sensing due to their design simplicity, robustness, and their ability to measure a wide range of temperatures. 30 , 33 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 Due to these characteristics, they are used in several industrial, scientific, and consumer applications such as process control, ovens, furnaces, and automotive engines. 39 , 43 , 45 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 Based on the type of alloys used, several varieties of thermocouples are available for commercial use, such as Type K (nickel-chromium alloy and nickel-silicon alloy), Type J (iron and copper-nickel alloy), Type T (copper and constantan), Type B (platinum-rhodium alloy and platinum-rhodium alloy), Type S (platinum-rhodium alloy and platinum, Type R (platinum-rhodium alloy and platinum) and Type E (nickel-chromium alloy and constantan).…”

Optimizing the Properties of La0.8Sr0.2CrO3 Thin Films through Post-Annealing for High-Temperature Sensing

“…Various noncontacting sensing technologies have been employed, such as optic pyrometers [ 2 ] and acoustic pyrometers [ 3 ], but the measuring temperature of turbine engines is not direct and accurate, due to the principles of these technologies, and their complicated structures and sensing modules do not make them easy to integrate with the turbine engine. However, thin-film thermocouples (TFTCs) as a typical kind of immersive sensor can be deposited directly onto the surfaces of turbine engine components with a thickness of a few micro/nanometers using modern deposition technologies; they have been promising as thermal sensors for turbine engines due to the advantages of excellent spatial resolution, cost-effective in large quantities, and rapid response [ 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 ].…”