A thermoelectric sintered body according to an embodiment comprises thermoelectric powder, the thermoelectric powder, arranged in a horizontal direction, comprising: a plurality of first powders in the shape of plate-type flakes; and a plurality of second powders in a shape different from that of the first powders, wherein the second powders comprise 5 volume % or less of the total thermoelectric powder.

A thermoelectric material comprising carbon nanotubes and lignin. The carbon nanotubes are present as fibres and the lignin is present in pores and/or voids in the carbon nanotube fibres. The lignin may act as a dopant to increase the thermoelectric efficiency of the carbon nanotubes, multi-walled carbon nanotubes in particular. A method of forming a thermoelectric material involving impregnating fibres of carbon nanotubes with lignin, is also provided. A thermoelectric element, a fabric and a thermoelectric device comprising the thermoelectric material are also provided. The thermoelectric material may be particularly useful for the production of wearable thermoelectric devices.

A thermoelectric device includes a semiconductor stacked thermoelectric thin film including a first high-purity layer composed of SiGe as a main material and a composite carrier supply layer formed on the first high-purity layer. The composite carrier supply layer includes a second high-purity layer and third high-purity layer composed of Si as a main material, and a carrier supply layer held between the second and third high-purity layers and composed of SiGe as a main material. The carrier supply layer is a P-type carrier supply layer to which an additive of a group XIII element is added or a N-type carrier supply layer to which an additive of a group XV element is added.

A thermoelectric conversion material (10) according to an embodiment includes a plurality of parent-phase particles (22) and nanoparticles (30). The parent-phase particles (22) have a crystalline structure. Each of the nanoparticles (30) includes an oxide and exists at an interface between the parent-phase particles (22). The nanoparticles (30) include at least one element that constitutes the crystalline structure. When a range of 6 μm×4 μm of the thermoelectric conversion material (10) is observed with a scanning electron microscope to acquire one sheet of cross-sectional observation image, an average particle diameter d, which is an average of an equivalent circle diameter of a particle group including the parent-phase particles (22) and the nanoparticles (30) which are observed on the cross-sectional observation image, is equal to or more than 100 nm and equal to or less than 1000 nm.

A structure and method for cooling a three-dimensional integrated circuit (3DIC) are provided. A cooling element is configured for thermal connection to the 3DIC. The cooling element includes a plurality of individually controllable cooling modules disposed at a first plurality of locations relative to the 3DIC. Each of the cooling modules includes a cold pole and a heat sink. The cold pole is configured to absorb heat from the 3DIC. The heat sink is configured to dissipate the heat absorbed by the cold pole and is coupled to the cold pole via an N-type semiconductor element and via a P-type semiconductor element. A temperature sensing element includes a plurality of thermal monitoring elements disposed at a second plurality of locations relative to the 3DIC for measuring temperatures at the second plurality of locations. The measured temperatures control the plurality of cooling modules.

Embodiments relate to methods of manufacturing and operating nano-scale energy converters and electric power generators. The nano-scale energy converters include two electrodes separated a predetermined distance. The first electrode is manufactured to have a first work function value. The second electrode is manufactured to have a second work function value different from the first work function value. A cavity is formed between the first and second electrodes, and a nanofluid is disposed in the cavity. The nanofluid includes a plurality of nanoparticles, with the nanoparticles having a third work function value that is greater than the first and second work function values. The relationship of the work function values of the nanoparticles to the work function values of the electrodes optimizes transfer of electrons to the nanoparticles through Brownian motion and electron hopping.

A thermoelectric device includes each an n-type thermoelectric leg and a p-type thermoelectric leg electrically coupled by an electrical contact. At least one of the n-type and p-type thermoelectric legs contains a particulate semiconductor mixed with hollow microspheres. The hollow microspheres may make up between 40% and 90% by volume of the thermoelectric leg. Adjacent thermoelectric couples may be electrically coupled by a second electrical contact. The thermoelectric legs may be printed by deposition of an ink.

A method for obtaining copper arsenic chalcogen derived nanoparticles, including selecting a first precursor material from the group comprising copper, arsenic, antimony, bismuth, and mixtures thereof, selecting a second material from the group comprising sulfur, selenium, tellurium, and mixtures thereof, and then reacting both precursors in a solvent medium at conditions conducive to the formation of copper arsenic chalcogen derived nanoparticles.

Provided is a silicon bulk thermoelectric conversion material in which thermoelectric performance is improved by reducing the thermal conductivity as compared with the prior art. In the silicon bulk thermoelectric conversion material, the ZT is greater than 0.2 at room temperature with the elemental silicon. In the silicon bulk thermoelectric conversion material, a plurality of silicon grains have an average of 1 nm or more and 300 nm or less, a first hole have an average of 1 nm or more and 30 nm or less present in the plurality of silicon grains and surfaces of the silicon grains, and a second hole have an average of 100 nm or more and 300 nm or less present between the plurality of silicon grains, wherein the aspect ratio of a crystalline silicon grain is less than 10.

A method of producing a shaped product for a thermoelectric conversion element is provided. The method comprises: mixing a coarse mixture that contains metal nanoparticle-supporting carbon nanotubes, a resin component, and a solvent by dispersion treatment that brings about a cavitation effect or a crushing effect, to obtain a composition for a thermoelectric conversion element; and removing the solvent from the composition for a thermoelectric conversion element.