Additive Manufacturing of SiGe for ThermoElectricity – FASTE

Project FASTE proposes to develop a new technique to manufacture thermoelectric (TE) materials. More accurately, we propose to develop SiGe materials by Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF), an additive manufacturing (AM) method. If this technique has been very recently applied to few TE materials (Bi2Te3, MnSi, etc.), it will be the first time that it will be applied to SiGe. Compared to other usual techniques (SPS, HIP, etc.), LPBF offers three main advantages: the possibility to manufacture complex shapes, to simplify the manufacturing process (and so the cost) and to obtain materials with new microstructures that could potentially improve their TE properties. To reach this main objective, modelling at TE level and fine characterizations will be intensively used to help understanding and optimising both LPBF mechanisms and TE properties. Finally, a TE device proof-of-concept with specific circular shapes will be also developed at the end of the project, with the objective to demonstrate the compatibility and originality of this method to develop such TE devices.