An electrical converter and heater module with heat insulators having different cross-sectional areas includes a thermoelectric conversion module that corrects the difference in thermal resistance between a P-type thermoelectric conversion member and an N-type thermoelectric conversion member. In this thermoelectric conversion module, since insulators included in the P-type thermoelectric conversion member and the N-type thermoelectric conversion member have a different thermal resistance, it is possible to correct the difference in thermal resistance between the P-type thermoelectric conversion element and the N-type thermoelectric conversion element.

A method for packaging a thermoelectric module may include thermoelectric module accommodation, of accommodating at least one thermoelectric module in a housing having a base and a sidewall, electric wire sealing, of sealing an electric wire of the thermoelectric module with a sealing tube, bonding member interposing, of placing a cover having a top portion and a sidewall on top of the housing and interposing a bonding member between the sidewall of the housing and the sidewall of the cover, and bonding, of bonding the sidewall of the housing and the sidewall of the cover that are hermetically sealed by the bonding member, in which the bonding member may be formed of a resin material.

A magnesium-based thermoelectric conversion material includes a first layer formed of Mg.sub.2Si and a second layer formed of Mg.sub.2Si.sub.xSn.sub.1-x (here, x is equal to or greater than 0 and less than 1), in which the first layer and the second layer are directly joined to each other, and within a junction surface with the first layer and in the vicinity of the junction surface, the second layer has a tin concentration transition region in which a tin concentration increases as a distance from the junction surface increases. The junction layer is regarded as a site in which a tin concentration is found to be equal to or lower than a detection limit by the measurement performed using EDX.

A thermoelectric element according to one embodiment of the present disclosure includes a first substrate, a first resin layer disposed on the first substrate, a first electrode disposed on the first resin layer, a P-type thermoelectric leg and an N-type thermoelectric leg disposed on the first electrode, a second electrode disposed on the P-type thermoelectric leg and the N-type thermoelectric leg, a second resin layer disposed on the second electrode, and a second substrate disposed on the second resin layer, wherein at least one of the first electrode and the second electrode includes a copper layer, first plated layers disposed on both surfaces of the copper layer, and second plated layers disposed between both surfaces of the copper layer and the first plated layers, materials of the first plated layer and the second plated layer are different from each other, and the first plated layer has a melting point greater than or equal to 300° C., and an electrical conductivity greater than or equal to 9×10.sup.6 S/m.

A thermoelectric module according to an exemplary embodiment includes a first metal substrate including a first through-hole, a first insulating layer disposed on the first metal substrate, a first electrode part disposed on the first insulating layer and including a plurality of first electrodes, a plurality of P-type thermoelectric legs and a plurality of N-type thermoelectric legs disposed on the first electrode part, a second electrode part disposed on the plurality of P-type thermoelectric legs and the plurality of N-type thermoelectric legs and including a plurality of second electrodes, a second insulating layer disposed on the second electrode part, and a second metal substrate disposed on the second insulating layer and including a second through-hole, wherein the first metal substrate includes an effective region in which the first electrode part is disposed and a peripheral region formed outside the effective region, the second metal substrate includes an effective region in which the second electrode part is disposed and a peripheral region formed outside the effective region, the first through-hole occupies a portion of the effective region of the first metal substrate, the second through-hole occupies a portion of the effective region of the second metal substrate, and the first through-hole and the second through-hole are formed at positions corresponding to each other.

A thermoelectric material includes a parent phase in which an MgSiSn alloy is a main component, a void formed in the parent phase, and a silicon layer that is formed on at least a wall surface of the void and that includes silicon as a main component. The thermoelectric material further includes MgO in an amount of 1.0 wt. % or more and 20.0 wt. % or less. The silicon layer includes amorphous Si, or amorphous Si and nanosized Si crystals, and the parent phase includes a region in which the composition ratio of the Si of the chemical composition of the MgSiSn alloy is higher than in the other regions and a region in which the composition ratio of the Sn of the chemical composition of the MgSiSn alloy is higher than in the other regions. With these configurations, the thermoelectric material realizes both lower thermal conductivity and lower electrical resistivity.

A method of manufacturing an integrated circuit structure includes forming active regions, forming source/drain regions, and forming conductive segments resulting in a thermoelectric structure including a p-type region positioned on a front side of the substrate, an n-type region positioned on the front side of the substrate, and a wire on the front side of the substrate configured to electrically couple the p-type region to the n-type region. The method includes forming a first via configured to thermally couple the p-type region to a first power structure on a back side of the substrate, forming a second via configured to thermally couple the n-type region to a second power structure on the back side of the substrate, and electrically coupling an energy device to each of the first and second power structures.

A cooling system for a photovoltaic panel including micro flat heat pipes (HP) integrated with thermoelectric generators (TEG) and a cooled water reservoir for cooling the working fluid in heat pipes. The cooled water in the reservoir is pumped from the condensate pan of an air conditioner. Experimental results show that cooling system reduced the average temperature of the panel by as much as 19° C. or 25%. Further, the output power of the photovoltaic panel increased by 44% when the photovoltaic panel was used in a very hot climate (30-40° C.). An additional two watts of power was generated by the TEGs.

A thermoelectric apparatus according to one exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes a heat dissipation member having a groove formed therein, a first electrode disposed in the groove, a semiconductor structure disposed on the first electrode, a second electrode disposed on the semiconductor structure, a substrate disposed on the second electrode, and a sealing member disposed between a sidewall of the groove and the substrate.

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.