A method for producing a thermoelectric material, comprising: mixing an Sn powder and a powder containing a first dopant element to obtain a first mixed raw material, heating the first mixed raw material at a temperature allowing for mutual diffusion of Sn and the first dopant element to obtain a first aggregate, pulverizing the first aggregate to obtain a first powder, mixing an Mg powder, an Si powder, and the first powder to obtain a second mixed raw material, heating the second mixed raw material at a temperature allowing for mutual diffusion of Mg, Si, Sn and the first dopant element to obtain a second aggregate, pulverizing the second aggregate to obtain a second powder, and pressure-sintering the second powder, and wherein the first dopant element is one or more elements selected from Al, Ag, As, Bi, Cu, Sb, Zn, P, and B.

Methods and processes to fabricate thermoelectric materials and more particularly to methods and processes to fabricate nano-sized doped silicon-based semiconductive materials to use as thermoelectrics in the production of electricity from recovered waste heat. Substantially oxidant-free and doped silicon particulates are fractured and sintered to form a porous nano-sized silicon-based thermoelectric material.

A method is disclosed for tailoring the thermoelectric response of a thermocouple to that desired by a user. The method comprises the steps of; (a) selecting a first thermoelectric material, (b) selecting a second thermoelectric material having dissimilar thermoelectric properties to the first thermoelectric material, a thermocouple formed from the first thermoelectric material and the second thermoelectric material having a known thermoelectric response, and (c) modifying the chemical composition of at least one of the first thermoelectric material and the second thermoelectric material to produce a thermocouple having a tailored thermoelectric response. In specific embodiments, the chemical composition may be modified by selectively depleting one or more chemical elements from the thermoelectric material or by selectively adding, or increasing the proportion of, one or more elements to the thermoelectric material.

A molten material apparatus can include a container including a wall at least partially defining a containment area and an opening extending through the wall. The molten material apparatus can include a protective sleeve mounted at least partially within the opening of the wall of the container. A thermocouple can be positioned within an internal bore of the protective sleeve. A method of processing molten material can include inserting a thermocouple into a protective sleeve fabricated from a refractory ceramic material, and measuring a temperature of material within a containment area of a container with the thermocouple.

A metal junction thermoelectric device includes at least one thermoelectric element. The thermoelectric element has first and second opposite sides, and a first conductor made from a first metal, and a second conductor made from a second metal. The first and second conductors are electrically interconnected in series, and the first and second conductors are arranged to conduct heat in parallel between the first and second sides. The first metal has a first occupancy state, and the second metal has a second occupancy state that is lower than the first occupancy state. A temperature difference between the first and second sides of the thermoelectric element causes a charge potential due to the difference in occupancy states of the first and second metals. The charge potential generates electrical power.

A thermoelectric module may include a metallic module housing surrounding a module interior and conductor bridges arranged therein. The module housing may include a cold side wall and a warm side wall connected to cold-side conductor bridges and warm-side conductor bridges, respectively, in a thermally conductive, electrically insulating and permanent manner. The module may also include thermoelectric elements extending between the cold-side and warm-side conductor bridges. The cold side wall may be formed from a first metal material having a first heat expansion coefficient, and the warm side wall may be formed from a second metal material having a second heat expansion coefficient distinct from the first heat expansion coefficient. At least one of the first and second metal materials may be an iron material, the wall formed from the iron material having an electrically insulating coating, including one of a glass-ceramic sol-gel, a silicon oxide, and a polysilazen coating.

A thermoelectric device (20) and a method for manufacturing and using the same are disclosed. The thermoelectric device (20) includes a hot shoe (24) and a cold shoe (28) disposed about the hot shoe. A heat conducting member (32) formed of a thermoelectric material extends between the hot shoe (24) and the cold shoe (28) and generates electricity in response to a temperature difference therebetween. The hot shoe (24) is heated and expands at a greater rate than the cold shoe (28) does during operation. The structural and spatial relationship of the hot shoe (24) and the cold shoe (28) maintains the thermoelectric material of the heat conducting member (32) in compression during operation of the thermoelectric device (20).

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.