The present invention provides thermoelectric conversion elements and thermoelectric conversion modules which are possible to effectively use oxide materials having high Seebeck coefficient, and excellently improve their outputs. The present invention provides thermoelectric conversion elements which comprise at least a charge transport layer, thermoelectric conversion material layers and electrodes, wherein the charge transport layer comprises a graphite treated to dope charge-donating materials so that the graphite has an n-type semiconductor property, or a graphite treated to dope charge-accepting materials so that the graphite has a p-type semiconductor property, and provides thermoelectric conversion modules using the thermoelectric conversion elements.

A chip of thermoelectric conversion material may have a concave portion and may be capable of realizing high joining properties to an electrode. Such a chip of thermoelectric conversion material may have a concave on at least one surface of the chip of thermoelectric conversion material. The shape of such chips of may be rectangular parallelepiped, cubic, and/or columnar shape.

A thermoelectric conversion material contains a matrix composed of a semiconductor and nanoparticles disposed in the matrix, and the nanoparticles have a lattice constant distribution Δd/d of 0.0055 or more.

A thermoelectric module according to one embodiment of the present invention comprises: a first substrate; a thermoelectric element disposed on the first substrate; a second substrate disposed on the thermoelectric element and having a smaller area than the first substrate; a sealing part disposed on the first substrate and surrounding a side surface of the thermoelectric element; and a wire part connected to the thermoelectric element, drawn out through the sealing part, and supplying power to the thermoelectric element, wherein the sealing part has a through hole through which the wire part passes, and the through hole is disposed closer to the second substrate than the first substrate.

Provided are: a method for producing a chip of a thermoelectric conversion material that enables annealing treatment of a thermoelectric conversion material in the form not having a junction with an electrode, and enables annealing of a thermoelectric semiconductor material at an optimum annealing temperature; and a method for producing a thermoelectric conversion module using the chip (13). Also provided are: a method for producing a chip of a thermoelectric conversion material formed of a thermoelectric semiconductor composition, including (A) a step of forming a sacrificial layer (2) on a substrate (1), (B) a step of forming a chip of a thermoelectric conversion material on the sacrificial layer formed in the step (A), (C) a step of annealing the chip of a thermoelectric conversion material formed in the step (B), and (D) a step of peeling the chip of a thermoelectric conversion material annealed in the step (C); and a method for producing a thermoelectric conversion module using the chip produced according to the production method.

Methods, ink compositions, and 3D conformal printed flexible films. The method may include aerosol jet printing a thermoelectric ink composition, followed by photonic or other sintering of the ink to remove surfactant included therein, and to convert the thermoelectric nanoparticles of the ink composition into a dense structure capable of charge carrier transport. The ink compositions may be solution-processed semimetal-chalcogenides (e.g., Te containing materials) in a suitable carrier (e.g., polyol(s), alcohol(s), etc.). A surfactant (e.g., PVP) may be present in the ink. Within seconds of photonic sintering, the electrical conductivity of the printed film is dramatically increased from non-conductive to a value on the order of at least 1×10.sup.4 S/m. The films may demonstrate a room-temperature power factor of at least 500 μWm.sup.−1K.sup.−2. The realized values of 730-2200 μWm.sup.−1K.sup.−2 achieved are among the highest values reported for flexible thermoelectric films. The film is durable (e.g., 500 bending cycles with no significant performance drop).

Provided is a method of preparing an SnSe thermoelectric material including (a) heating a mixture including Sn.sup.2+ and Se.sup.2−, (b) cooling the mixture at a cooling rate greater than 0 and equal to or less than 3 K/h, and forming single crystal Sn.sub.1−xSe (where 0<x<1), and an SnSe thermoelectric material prepared thereby and including Sn vacancies.

Various examples of thin film thermoelectric (TE) devices, their fabrication and applications are presented. In one example, a thin film TE device includes a first substrate including a void; a p-type TE element attached to the first substrate at a first end and extending over the void to a second end; an n-type TE element attached to the first substrate at a first end and extending over the void to a second end adjacent to the second end of the p-type TE element; and an interconnection coupling the second ends of the p-type TE element and the n-type TE element. In some examples, TE device layers can be vacuum sealed between a supporting substrate and a transparent substrate. A thermal spreader can include TE modules having a distribution of TE elements that operate in generating or cooling modes to cool IC or device hotspots using self-generated power.

A chalcogen-containing compound of the following Chemical Formula 1 which exhibits excellent phase stability at a low temperature, particularly at a temperature corresponding to the driving temperature of a thermoelectric element, and also exhibits an excellent thermoelectric performance index through an increase in a power factor and a decrease in thermal conductivity, a method for preparing the same, and a thermoelectric element including the same:
V.sub.1-xM.sub.xSn.sub.4Bi.sub.2Se.sub.7-yTe.sub.y  [Chemical Formula 1]
In the above Formula 1, V is a vacancy, M is an alkali metal, x is greater than 0 and less than 1, and y is greater than 0 and less than or equal to 1.

A thermoelectric module according to one embodiment of the present invention comprises: a first substrate; a thermoelectric element disposed on the first substrate; a second substrate disposed on the thermoelectric element and having a smaller area than the first substrate; a sealing part disposed on the first substrate and surrounding a side surface of the thermoelectric element; and a wire part connected to the thermoelectric element, drawn out through the sealing part, and supplying power to the thermoelectric element, wherein the sealing part has a through hole through which the wire part passes, and the through hole is disposed closer to the second substrate than the first substrate.