Two Decades of Thermoelectric Invention. Independent Validation.
Our intellectual property estate spans foundational thermal-diode physics through modern device architecture and high-temperature manufacturing methods. Independent testing at NREL, ARL, NIST, Bechtel-Bettis, Lockheed Martin KAPL, and Texas State University has confirmed the underlying performance.
Patent Portfolio
Two decades of invention across thermal-diode physics, solid-state device architecture, and high-temperature contact structures.
MicroPower's intellectual property covers the underlying thermoelectric physics, the integrated multi-layer device, and the manufacturing know-how that makes reliable high-temperature operation possible. Protection has been pursued across North America, Europe, and Asia.
Thermal Diode & Energy-Sorting Physics
The foundational physics: an electronic energy-sorting barrier structure that selectively passes hot electrons while blocking the ohmic return current. Patented in multiple jurisdictions and published in Applied Physics Letters (2002) and Journal of Applied Physics (2005), this work established the mechanism behind MicroPower's enhanced voltage and current density.
Coverage: Physics, materials, hybrid thermionic & tunnelling-effect converters
Solid-State Energy Converter & Device Architecture
Multi-layer device structures and the international device family – the architecture that integrates the energy-sorting layer into a manufacturable module optimised for industrial waste-heat conditions. Active grants in North America, Europe, and Asia.
Coverage: Device design, multi-layer integration, international protection
Contact Structures & Manufacturing Methods
Intermediate- and high-temperature contact structures, module-assembly materials, and liquid-metal contact technology – the practical engineering IP that makes reliable 300–550°C operation possible. Built under MicroPower's 2012 ARL CRADA and developed continuously by the technical team in San Marcos.
Coverage: Contact structures, manufacturing processes, high-temperature packaging
MicroPower's IP estate has been built over two decades of R&D and independently validated at six national-grade laboratories. Patent specifics and current-portfolio status are available to qualified investors and licensing partners under NDA.
Third-Party Validation
Independent testing from leading laboratories
These are not self-reported numbers. Independent national-grade laboratories have verified MicroPower's underlying performance.
National Renewable Energy Laboratory
US Department of Energy
Test Summary: Independent module-performance testing of MicroPower PbTe/TAGS modules under controlled laboratory conditions.
Finding: NREL conducted independent module-performance testing and confirmed that MicroPower's production modules performed to datasheet specification. The stated 14% module conversion efficiency at 550°C is extrapolated from the US Army Research Laboratory's evaluation of MicroPower's standard modules; NREL independently verified that production modules met the datasheet specification rather than measuring efficiency directly. NREL's testing protocol is the gold standard for renewable energy technologies, and applying that methodology to MicroPower modules supports the platform's commercial-deployment claims.
Significance: NREL is a recognised US Department of Energy laboratory; independent confirmation that production modules met datasheet specification is a commercially important reference point.
US Army Research Laboratory – Contact & Module-Performance Research
Department of Defense
Test Summary: MicroPower collaborated with ARL on the high-temperature contact and thermal-interface structures used in current chip designs.
Finding: ARL's evaluation of MicroPower's standard modules provides the basis for the stated 14% module conversion efficiency at 550°C, a figure extrapolated from those tests. MPG's high-temperature contact, an evolution of an ARL-recommended starting structure, is what enables stable operation at that temperature.
Significance: Provides the basis for MicroPower's 14% module efficiency figure; NREL independently confirmed that production modules met datasheet specification.
National Institute of Standards & Technology
US Department of Commerce
Test Summary: Independent thermal-to-electric conversion efficiency measurements on the original ENECO-era HgCdTe (MCT) thermal-diode samples (Radebaugh & Lewis, December 2001). Steady-state and transient measurements with corrected heat-flow accounting per the Hagelstein model.
Finding: NIST measured an enhanced open-circuit voltage on the thermal diodes substantially above the value expected for the bulk thermoelectric material – independent confirmation of the energy-sorting effect. On the best sample (MCT5), NIST measured 38% of the Carnot limit (~16% absolute) at 240°C, comparable to the highest values previously reported by ENECO under steady-state argon conditions.
Significance: NIST measurements are accepted in patent disputes and international trade. NIST is one of three independent national laboratories (alongside Bechtel-Bettis and Lockheed Martin KAPL) that confirmed the underlying physics in 2001–2002.
Bechtel Bettis & Lockheed Martin KAPL
US Navy Nuclear Propulsion Laboratories
Test Summary: Following a December 2001 DARPA review of direct energy conversion technology, Bechtel Bettis (Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory, West Mifflin, PA) and Lockheed Martin KAPL (Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory, Schenectady, NY) were commissioned to provide independent assessments of the thermal diode materials developed by ENECO – MicroPower's predecessor company, which originated the underlying IP.
Finding: Independent testing confirmed the core physics claim. Open-circuit voltage measured up to approximately two times higher than expected from the pure thermoelectric (Seebeck) effect alone, consistent with thermal-diode carrier injection across a potential barrier. This enhanced-voltage effect was independently verified by Bettis, KAPL, and NIST on both InSb and HgCdTe (MCT) material systems.
Engineering limitations noted in the report: Bettis identified contact-resistance at the indium-gallium eutectic interface, and material degradation in MCT above ~465°F, as the principal engineering barriers to extracting full conversion efficiency from the test rig – and suggested PbTe-group materials and alternate substrates as the path to higher-temperature operation. MicroPower subsequently moved to PbTe/PbSnTe materials better matched to real-world industrial waste-heat temperatures.
Significance: Bettis and KAPL are two of the most rigorous materials-testing environments in the United States, operating the Navy's nuclear propulsion program. Their independent confirmation of the enhanced-voltage effect establishes the underlying physics that the MicroPower platform is built on.
Texas State University
Materials Science & Engineering Department
Test Summary: Independent module testing and performance characterization. Long-term thermal cycling and durability studies.
Finding: Confirmed stable performance across 500+ thermal cycles (25°C to 450°C). No degradation in output power. Mechanical integrity intact. Confirmed 20+ year operational life projection based on accelerated testing protocols.
Significance: University-based testing supplements the national-lab work and supports peer-reviewed publication of underlying results.