Integrated thermoelectric generator

An integrated thermoelectric generator, comprising a support and at least one set of thermocouples extending along a surface of a semiconductor substrate between a first zone and a second zone in the semiconductor substrate, the at least one set of thermocouples electrically connected in series and thermally connected in parallel between the first zone and the second zone, wherein the support comprises the semiconductor substrate and isolating regions, and wherein the at least one set of thermocouples comprises semiconductor regions extending along parallel lines between the first zone and the second zone with each semiconductor region having one type of conductivity from among two opposite types of conductivity, at least some of the semiconductor regions extending in the substrate between parallel isolating regions, or at least some of the semiconductor regions straddling over a part of the substrate whilst being electrically isolated from the part of substrate and over at least a part of the isolating regions, or at least some the semiconductor regions being coated with an isolating material and extending totally over parallel isolating regions or totally over the regions of substrate situated between the parallel isolating regions, the semiconductor regions of the at least one set of thermocouples being electrically connected in series so as to form a chain of semiconductor regions having, alternatingly, one and the other of the two types of conductivity.

An integrated circuit, comprising:

• a semiconductor substrate;
• levels of metallization above the substrate;
• a generator disposed in the substrate, the generator comprising a set of thermocouples electrically connected in series and thermally connected in parallel, the set of thermocouples comprising semiconductor regions, each semiconductor region having one type of conductivity from among two opposite types of conductivity, wherein the semiconductor regions are electrically connected in series so as to form a chain of regions having, alternatingly, one and the other of the two types of conductivity, electrical connections between the thermocouples comprising metal tracks extending over at least one level of metallization;
• a temperature gradient generator between first end zones and second end zones of the semiconductor regions of the thermocouples;
• and
• an electrically conductive output structure coupled to the generator in order to deliver electrical energy produced by the generator.

An integrated circuit, comprising:

• a semiconductor substrate;
• a plurality of non-volatile memory cells disposed in the semiconductor substrate;
• and
• a set of thermocouples disposed in the semiconductor substrate, the set of thermocouples comprising semiconductor regions electrically connected in series and thermally connected in parallel, wherein the semiconductor regions are electrically connected in series so as to form a chain of regions having, alternatingly, n-type and p-type semiconductors.

An integrated circuit, comprising:

• a semiconductor substrate;
• means for generating a temperature gradient along a region of the semiconductor substrate;
• means for generating electrical power located in the region of the semiconductor substrate, the means for generating electrical power comprising at least one set of thermocouples integrated at a surface of the semiconductor substrate;
• means for storing the generated electrical power disposed in the semiconductor substrate;
• and
• an array of non-volatile memory cells disposed in the semiconductor substrate.