Disclosed are methods for the manufacture of n-type and p-type filled skutterudite thermoelectric legs of an electrical contact. A first material of CoSi.sub.2 and a dopant are ball-milled to form a first powder which is thermo-mechanically processed with a second powder of n-type skutterudite to form a n-type skutterudite layer disposed between a first layer and a third layer of the doped-CoSi.sub.2. In addition, a plurality of components such as iron, and nickel, and at least one of cobalt or chromium are ball-milled form a first powder that is thermo-mechanically processed with a p-type skutterudite layer to form a p-type skutterudite layer “second layer” disposed between a first and a third layer of the first powder. The specific contact resistance between the first layer and the skutterudite layer for both the n-type and the p-type skutterudites subsequent to hot-pressing is less than about 10.0 μΩ.Math.cm.sup.2.

A semiconductor structure comprises one or more semiconductor devices, each of the semiconductor devices having two or more electrical connections; one or more first conductors connected to a first electrical connection on the semiconductor device, the first conductor comprising a first material having a positive Seebeck coefficient; and one or more second conductors connected to a second electrical connection on the semiconductor device, the second conductor comprising a second material having a negative Seebeck coefficient. The first conductor and the second conductor conduct electrical current through the semiconductor device and conduct heat away from the semiconductor device.

Provided are a thermoelectric material, and a thermoelectric element and a thermoelectric module, each including the thermoelectric material. The thermoelectric material, according to some embodiments includes an n-doped metal halide compound having a zero-dimensional (0D) electronic system. The thermoelectric material has a significantly low electrical thermal conductivity and improved electron conductivity and thus may enhance thermoelectrical performance.

An active cooling structure, comprising a non-superconducting layer, a superconducting layer, and an array of Superconductor-Insulator-Normal Metal (NIS) tunnel junctions. The non-superconducting layer may comprise a plurality of non-superconducting traces. The superconducting layer may comprise a plurality of superconducting traces. The array of Superconductor-Insulator-Normal Metal (NIS) tunnel junctions may be located between the plurality of non-superconducting traces and the plurality of superconducting traces.

A thermoelectric transducer includes a substrate, a thermoelectric film on the substrate, a first electrode on the substrate, and a second electrode on the substrate, the second electrode being different from the first electrode in work function. The first electrode and the second electrode are in contact with the same side of the thermoelectric film. The outer edge of the thermoelectric film is located inner than the outer edge of the substrate.

The present invention relates to a thermoelectric measurement system based on a liquid eutectic gallium-indium electrode, whereby thermoelectric performance can be measured with excellent efficiency and high reproducibility even without construction of expensive equipment, various organic molecules as well as large-area molecular layers can be measured, and various thermoelectric materials, such as inorganic materials and inorganic-organic composite materials, can be measured. In addition, non-toxic liquid metal EGaIn is used as an upper electrode, so the damage to even a substance of measurement in the form of a nano-level thin film can be minimized, and the measurement of thermoelectric performance can be performed on even nano- to micro-level organic thermoelectric elements. Therefore, the thermoelectric measurement system is widely utilized across the thermoelectric element industry.

Methods of making various fibers are provided including co-axial fibers with oppositely doped cladding and core are provide; hollow core doped silicon carbide fibers are provided; and doubly clad PIN junction fibers are provided. Additionally methods are provided for forming direct PN junctions between oppositely doped fibers are provided. Various thermoelectric generators that incorporate the aforementioned fibers are provided.

A thermoelectric conversion element of the present disclosure includes a thermoelectric conversion layer, a first metal layer, a second metal layer, a first joining layer, and a second joining layer. At least one of the first joining layer and the second joining layer includes a second alloy. A content of Mg in the second alloy is 84 atm % or more and 89 atm % or less, a content of Cu in the second alloy is 11 atm % or more and 15 atm % or less, and a content of an alkaline earth metal in the second alloy is 0 atm % or more and 1 atm % or less.

A thermoelectric module includes: an electrode; a double layer stacked on a thermoelectric pellet; and a solder layer interposed between the double layer and the electrode to bond the double layer to the electrode, the solder layer containing a Sn—Cu-based alloy. The solder layer is formed to have an interface with one of the double layer and the electrode and has at least one ε layer having an ε phase (Cu.sub.3Sn).

The device presented in this patent application is a solid state “thermoelectric device”, which receives energy from an external heat source by direct contact or by radiation (input), and uses part of that thermal energy to generate electrical energy by radiation (output). This can be used to compose a thermoelectric generator, and/or as a “thermo electronic regulator” in an electronic circuit. Transducers with the same structure and that operate in a similar way, that is, they receive energy from an external source of electromagnetic radiation, or by direct contact with a heat source and transform it by radiation into electrical energy, they are the elements that make up the photovoltaic cells (photoelectric effect) and thermionic generators (thermionic effect). On the other hand, electronic devices that regulate the flow of current in a certain circuit such as transistors and some type of diode in particular, are composed of materials that interact with each other in a similar way to those used by this thermoelectric device, but are generally powered by electrical energy.