Provided is a thermoelectric material including a metal silicide film, and silicon particles dispersed in the metal silicide film, the total volume of the silicon particles being greater than the volume of the metal silicide film.

A metamaterial coupled antenna includes a metamaterial and a rectenna that has an antenna element and a diode coupled by a transmission line. The metamaterial generates a spoof surface plasmon in the presence of heat. The antenna element resonates in the presence of the spoof surface plasmon as terahertz frequencies and generates a voltage that is coupled to the diode via the transmission line. The diode rectifies the voltage to produce electricity. The transmission line is configured to provide a voltage boost to the voltage signal delivered by the antenna element and to compensation for diode capacitance.

A method for fabricating a thermoelectric material comprising providing an initial feedstock of silicon metal particulates, providing an extracting liquid to extract oxidants from the silicon metal particulates, combining the silicon metal particulates and the extracting liquid into a mixture and milling said mixture, withdrawing at least a portion of the milled mixture, within the withdrawn portion of the milled mixture, separating milled silicon metal particulates from the extracting liquid, and mixing the milled silicon metal particulates with a dopant to form a thermoelectric material.

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.

Discussed herein are systems and methods for fabrication of MgSnGe-based thermoelectric materials for applications from room temperature and near room temperature to high temperature applications. The TE materials may be fabricated by hand or ball milling a powder to a predetermined particle size and hot-pressing the milled powder to form a thermoelectric component with desired properties including a figure of merit (ZT) over a temperature range. The TE materials fabricated may be disposed in thermoelectric devices for varying applications.

A method of manufacturing p-n junction in semiconductor material such that small dimensions of such junctions are maintained, and associated lattice dislocations of such junctions may be preferentially maintained, and devices with such patterned semiconductor material, is disclosed. Typically, a neutron moderator is used to slow fast neutrons to thermal energies. A mask made from thermal neutron absorbing material, such as cadmium, is placed in close proximity to such neutron moderator. Thermal neutron focusing optics, such as compound refractive lenses, are used to collect and focus thermal neutrons emitted from the mask such that the pattern or portion of the pattern is transferred to the silicon body, with neutrons transmitted from the window areas in the mask and through the neutron optic so as to form the donor dopant concentration for the n-type regions by transmutation of silicon atoms into phosphorus. An electronic device produced by such a method has vertical p-n junctions continuous between both major surfaces and horizontal alternating p-type and n-type regions across most of the face of the material, such that unique properties are achieved.

A semiconductor device includes a semiconductor substrate, a polysilicon layer fixed to the semiconductor substrate, and a silicon nitride layer in contact with the polysilicon layer, wherein the polysilicon layer includes a n-type layer and a p-type layer in contact with the n-type layer.

A thermoelectric material having improved thermoelectric properties and a method for producing the thermoelectric material are provided. The thermoelectric material contains (Mn.sub.1-x-yV.sub.xFe.sub.y)Si.sub. (0.012x0.045, 0y0.06, 1.71.8) and is produced by homogenously melting the raw materials including Mn, Si, and V mixed to a composition of the thermoelectric material, and then solidifying the melted raw materials at a cooling rate of 13 K/hour or less.

A thermoelectric material includes a composite having a first electrically conducting component and second low thermal conductivity component. The first component may include a semiconductor and the second component may include an inorganic oxide. The thermoelectric composite includes a network of the first component having nanoparticles of the second component dispersed in the network.

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.