Methods of manufacturing thermocouples may involve exposing a first thermoelement wire and a second thermoelement wire to a temperature in a range extending from about 50 C. to about 60 C. above an intended operational temperature of the first and second thermoelement wires and until a rate of change of a normalized voltage output of the first thermoelement wire and the second thermoelement wire is about 0.001 normalized Volts per hour or less.

The present invention provides a thermoelectric conversion material represented by the following chemical formula (I):
Ba.sub.8+aCu.sub.6bGe.sub.40+6 (I) wherein the values of a is not less than 0.1 and not more than 0.47; the values of b is not less than 0 and not more than 0.43; the thermoelectric conversion material has a clathrate crystal structure; and the thermoelectric conversion material is of p-type. The present invention provides a p-type BaCuGe clathrate thermoelectric conversion material having high thermoelectric conversion performance index.

A cross-plane flexible micro-TEG with hundreds of pairs of thermoelectric pillars formed via electroplating, microfabrication, and substrate transferring processes is provided herein. Typically, fabrication is conducted on a Si substrate, which can be easily realized by commercial production line. The fabricated micro-TEG transferred to the flexible layer from the Si substrate. Fabrication methods provided herein allow fabrication of main TEG components including bottom interconnectors, thermoelectric pillars, and top interconnectors by electroplating. Such flexible micro-TEGs provide high output power density due to high density of thermoelectric pillars and very low internal resistance of electroplated components. The flexible micro-TEG can achieve a power per unit area of 4.5 mW cm.sup.2 at a temperature difference of 50 K, which is comparable to performance of flexible TEGs developed by screen printing. The power per unit weight of flexible TEGs described herein is as high as 60 mW g.sup.1, which is advantageous for wearable applications.

The present invention relates to a Pt vs. RhPt thermocouple (such as a Type R or Type S thermocouple), and to the modification of the electrical properties of the same, while in service. More especially there is provided a method for reducing the drift of a Pt vs. RhPt thermocouple while the thermocouple is in use in an oxidising environment, wherein the Pt limb of the thermocouple is doped platinum comprising an effective amount of one or more dopants selected from the group consisting of yttrium, zirconium and samarium.

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.

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.

In order to provide an Fe2TiSi type full-Heusler thermoelectric conversion material having a high dimensionless figure-of-merit ZT, the full-Heusler thermoelectric conversion material is characterized in that: the full-Heusler thermoelectric conversion material has secondary crystal grains having an Fe2TiSi type composition and a coating layer covering the circumference of the secondary crystal grains and containing an element other than Fe, Ti, and Si as a main component; and the coating layer has a composition containing an element being dissolvable in a crystal structure of the Fe2TiSi type composition and having an electric resistivity lower than the secondary crystal grains.

A thermoelectric conversion module is a thermoelectric conversion module in which a plurality of thermoelectric conversion elements are electrically connected to each other via a first electrode portion disposed on first end side of the thermoelectric conversion elements and a second electrode portion disposed on the second end side of the thermoelectric conversion elements; a first insulating circuit board provided with a first insulating layer of which at least one surface is made of alumina and the first electrode portion formed of a sintered body of Ag formed on the one surface of the first insulating layer is disposed on the first end side of the thermoelectric conversion elements; and a glass component is present at an interface between the first electrode portion and the first insulating layer.

A thermoelectric module including at least a first and a second thermoelectric element comprising a thermoelectric semiconductor; an electrode connecting the first and second thermoelectric elements; and at least a first and a second joining layer, the first joining layer positioned between the first thermoelectric element and the electrode, and the second joining layer positioned between the second thermoelectric element and the electrode; and at least a first and a second barrier layer including an alloy including Cu, Mo and Ti, the first barrier layer positioned between the first thermoelectric element and the first joining layer, and the second barrier layer positioned between the second thermoelectric element and the second joining layer. The module prevents heat diffusion of the material of the joining layer, preventing the oxidation and deformation of the thermoelectric element under high temperature environment, and exhibiting improved operational stability due to excellent adhesion to a thermoelectric element.

A laminate includes, on a substrate, a first buffer layer substantially made of zirconium oxide or stabilized zirconia, a second buffer layer substantially made of yttrium oxide, a metal layer substantially made of at least one among platinum, iridium, palladium, rhodium, vanadium, chromium, iron, molybdenum, tungsten, aluminum, silver, gold, copper, and nickel, and a magnesium oxide layer substantially made of magnesium oxide, in this order.