A thermoelectric conversion material of the present disclosure contains Ge, Mg, at least one of Sb and Bi, and Te, and satisfies the condition (1) represented by x+a+b<0.98. In the condition (1), x is the amount-of-substance ratio of the content of Ge to the content of Te, a is the amount-of-substance ratio of the content of Mg to the content of Te, and b is the amount-of-substance ratio of the sum of the contents of Sb and Bi to the content of Te.

A thermoelectric conversion material includes, a base material composed of SiGe, a first additive element functioning as a dopant, a second additive element different from the first additive element, and oxygen. The second additive element includes at least one of Mg, Ca, and Ti. A content ratio of the second additive element relative to the base material is 0.5 at % to 5 at %. In a rectangular area of a section of the base material, the rectangular area being selected such that a grain boundary intersects opposite sides of the rectangular area, a distribution of the second additive element and the oxygen has a positive correlation. A correlation coefficient of the correlation is in a range of 0.2 or more and less than 1.0.

A method for manufacturing a thermoelectric structure including the following steps: a) providing a substrate made from a first material, b) depositing a thermoelectric element made from a second material on the substrate, by additive manufacturing, preferably by SLS or PBF, c) thinning and cutting the substrate until a film made from the first material is obtained, by means of which a thermoelectric structure comprising a film and the thermoelectric element is obtained.

An optical sensor includes a support film having a first main surface and a second main surface located opposite to the first main surface in a thickness direction; a thermoelectric-conversion material section disposed on the first main surface and including a plurality of strip-shaped first material layers formed of SiGe having p-type conductivity and configured to convert thermal energy into electric energy, and a plurality of strip-shaped second material layers formed of SiGe having n-type conductivity and configured to convert thermal energy into electric energy; a heat sink disposed on the second main surface; and a light absorbing film disposed so as to form a temperature difference in each of the first material layers in longitudinal directions and each of the second material layers in longitudinal directions and configured to convert received light into thermal energy.

An optical sensor includes a support and a thermoelectric-conversion material section including first material layers, second material layers, and a third material layer. Each of the first material layers may have a first region including a first end portion and a second region including a second end portion. Each of the second material layers may have a third region including a third end portion and a fourth region including a fourth end portion. The first region and the second region are electrically connected to the third region and the fourth region, respectively, such that the plurality of first material layers and the plurality of second material layers are alternately connected in series to each other. The third material layer is disposed between the first region and the third region.

A thermoelectric array display and a manufacturing method thereof are provided. The thermoelectric array display includes at least a first pixel, where the first pixel includes a bottom electrode, a P-type thermoelectric leg, an N-type thermoelectric leg, and a top electrode; the P-type thermoelectric leg is arranged on the bottom electrode; and the P-type thermoelectric leg is connected in series to the N-type thermoelectric leg by the top electrode. The thermoelectric array display has strong concealment of information transmission, can effectively reduce heat generation of a device, and can implement long-distance signal transmission.

A thermoelectric conversion device includes a first electrode, a thermoelectric conversion material portion containing Si and Ge as constituent elements, a conductive joining member disposed in contact with the first electrode and the thermoelectric conversion material portion and joining the first electrode and the thermoelectric conversion material portion together, and a second electrode. The Si and the Ge contain amorphous phase and crystalline phase. The joining member contains at least one of Ag, Cu, Ti, and Sn or an alloy thereof as a major constituent. The thermoelectric conversion material portion includes a first layer containing the major constituent in an amount of 10 atm % or more and in contact with the joining member, and a second layer. The second layer has a degree of crystallinity of 40% by volume to 90% by volume.

Structures including an optical phase shifter and methods of forming a structure including an optical phase shifter. The structure comprises an optical phase shifter including a waveguide core having a first branch and a second branch laterally spaced from the first branch. The structure further comprises a thermoelectric device including a first plurality of pillars and a second plurality of pillars that alternate with the first plurality of pillars in a series circuit. The first plurality of pillars and the second plurality of pillars disposed adjacent to the first branch of the waveguide core, the first plurality of pillars comprises an n-type semiconductor material, and the second plurality of pillars comprises a p-type semiconductor material.

A semiconductor structure includes, an optical component and a thermal control mechanism. The optical component includes a first main path that splits into a first side path and a second side path so that the first side path and the second side path are separated from one another. The thermal control mechanism configured to control a temperature of both the first side path and the second side path, wherein the first thermal control mechanism includes a first thermoelectric member and a second thermoelectric member that are positioned between the first side path and the second side path and the first thermoelectric member and the second thermoelectric member have opposite conductive types.

A heat absorbing element 20 of a thin-film Peltier type is thermally connected with a surface of a semiconductor element body portion 10 through a heat conducting layer 15 which is an electrical insulator. The heat absorbing element 20 is comprised of a substance having a bulk thermal conductivity of 50 W/mK or more and a Seebeck coefficient of 300 ?V/K or more.