Barcelona researchers suspended a tiny chip like a bridge and used ceramic to increase its temperature difference roughly 100-fold

Researchers have created an environmentally friendlier microgenerator using an innovative suspended chip design.

The Internet of Things (IoT) has become more fundamental worldwide as it enables automatic data collection and sharing.

This network drives automation, real-time decision-making, and efficiency gains across various vital global industries.

Ultimately, successfully commercializing green chip designs will unlock autonomous, maintenance-free IoT devices, driving a cleaner, more efficient digital future.

However, its sensors face significant maintenance challenges and generate massive battery waste, so cleaner solutions are needed.

Will developing greener designs help power global sensor networks sustainably?

How the IoT has evolved to shape the modern world

The term Internet of Things, or IoT, was first coined in 1999 by computer scientist Kevin Ashton.

It was created to assist companies in automatically tracking products through supply chains.

Since then, it has grown far beyond simple inventory tracking to transform global industries.

The technology has evolved into a massive global network of physical devices featuring sensors and software.

It is now a core pillar for industries worldwide.

Manufacturing plants rely on connected devices to monitor heavy machinery and predict maintenance requirements before failures occur.

In agriculture, soil moisture and weather conditions are measured by smart sensors to automate crop irrigation.

Furthermore, IoT devices in smart cities manage traffic flow, control building energy consumption, and optimize public transit.

Automated real-time data collection is essential in reducing global resource waste and streamlining operations.

However, powering this vast network of remote IoT sensors presents a significant bottleneck.

The complexities of keeping the IoT operational

Managing IoT energy across modern industries has become significantly complex.

Since most sensors operate in remote or hard-to-reach locations, the majority of IoT devices rely on single-use batteries.

These locations include power plants, industrial reactors, and farm fields.

This single-use battery reliance creates operational and environmental risks.

Replacing discharged batteries in millions of devices requires expensive, labor-intensive maintenance.

Additionally, these dead batteries create massive amounts of electronic waste.

Improper disposal leads to toxic heavy metals leaching into soil and water sources.

That is why establishing the best practices for power-efficient IoT devices is key to securing future expansion.

Thermoelectric microgenerators overcome this by directly converting ambient waste heat into electricity.

Unfortunately, conventional technology uses scarce, toxic materials that are difficult to scale down.

Researchers from the CSIC Institute of Microelectronics of Barcelona addressed this issue by designing a cleaner, more efficient system.

At the core of this system is an innovative suspended chip.

Using a silicon chip with a suspended central membrane as a floating bridge

Marc Salleras, Joaquín Santander, and Llibertat Abad from CSIC led the study.

The Technical University of Denmark collaborated on the research.

They developed a prototype thermoelectric microgenerator using standard microelectronics materials.

Scarce, toxic components like tellurium and bismuth were eliminated by integrating thin active layers of niobium-doped strontium titanate (Nb:STO).

Nb:STO is an abundant, non-toxic thermoelectric ceramic oxide.

Effective integration of thermoelectric ceramic oxide

Silicon micromachining was used to manufacture a central membrane suspended in the middle of the chip.

When it rests on a hot surface, heat flows through the thermoelectric ceramic oxide layer. It moves from the hot exterior edges to the cooler interior.

This generates an electrical current.

Microadapters and a central heat sink were also attached to maintain a sharp temperature difference.

This increased the thermal gradient by a factor of 100, raising the energy extracted from ambient waste heat.

The study’s findings demonstrate that eco-friendly, silicon-compatible microgenerators can eliminate single-use battery use.

Moving forward, the material’s crystalline structure must be improved to increase electrical conductivity and reduce parasitic heat loss.

Industry leaders should also partner with microfabrication foundries to scale production.

Ultimately, successfully commercializing green chip designs will unlock autonomous, maintenance-free IoT devices, driving a cleaner, more efficient digital future.

The study can be reviewed using: Santander, J., Martin-Fernandez, I., Carbonell, C., Rodríguez-Iglesias, A., Fuentes-Rodríguez, L., Fernández-Regúlez, M., … & Salleras, M. (2026). A novel approach to micro-fabricated thermoelectric generators with SrTiO3. Science and Technology of Advanced Materials, 27(1), 2665920.