A sensing system including in-ground sensors not requiring battery power. A thermoelectric generator sensor rod includes an upper thermal contact and a lower thermal contact at or near its two ends. When the thermoelectric generator sensor rod is buried in the ground with one end buried more deeply than the other, a temperature gradient in the soil produces a temperature difference between the upper thermal contact and the lower thermal contact. The upper thermal contact and the lower thermal contact are thermally connected to a thermoelectric generator, e.g., by heat pipes or thermally conductive rods. Electrical power generated by the thermoelectric generator powers sensors for monitoring conditions in the ground, and circuitry for transmitting sensor data to a central data processing system.

Systems, apparatuses, and methods are provided for scalable manufacturing of thermoelectric device modules for multiple uses on a single substrate. An example method can include disposing thermoelectric structures on a substrate, the substrate having a first substrate material, and the thermoelectric structures having a thermoelectric material disposed on a second substrate material. The example method can further include removing the second substrate material from each of the thermoelectric structures. The example method can further include forming electrical contacts on a top surface of each respective one of the thermoelectric structures. The example method can further include forming top headers over subsets of the electrical contacts. The example method can further include forming thermoelectric device modules, each of the thermoelectric device modules having at least a pair of the thermoelectric structures and at least one of the top headers.

A thermoelectric element according to one embodiment of the present disclosure includes a first substrate, a first insulating layer disposed on the first substrate, a second insulating layer disposed on the first insulating layer, a first electrode disposed on the second insulating layer, and a semiconductor structure disposed on the first electrode, wherein the first insulating layer includes an uneven portion, a partial region of the first electrode is buried in the second insulating layer, the second insulating layer includes a concave portion which is concave in a direction toward the first insulating layer from a side surface of the first electrode, and the concave portion vertically overlaps the uneven portion.

A power generation element includes: a substrate including mutually opposed first and second principal surfaces; an electrode portion provided on the first principal surface and the second principal surface, the electrode portion including a first electrode portion and a second electrode portion; and an intermediate portion including nanoparticles. The substrate includes a first substrate portion and a second substrate portion that are mutually overlapped viewed in a first direction. The first principal surface of the first substrate portion includes a first separated surface and a first joint surface. The second principal surface of the second substrate portion includes a second separated surface and a second joint surface.

An semiconductor device includes a substrate having a first surface and a second surface opposite the first surface, and a through-silicon via structure extending through the substrate. The through-silicon via structure includes a first through-silicon via containing a first conductivity type material and a second through-silicon via containing a second conductivity type material opposite the first conductivity type material. The semiconductor device also includes a first conductive layer on the first surface of the substrate and electrically coupled to a first end of the first through-silicon via and a first end of the second through-silicon via. The semiconductor device also includes a second conductive on the second surface and having a first portion coupled to a second end of the first through-silicon via and a second portion coupled to a second end of the second through-silicon via.

A thermoelectric generation module has a cooling surface formed on one of a front side and a rear side and a heating surface formed on the other thereof. The thermoelectric generation module includes: a plurality of thermoelectric elements; a pair of flexible boards holding the thermoelectric elements therebetween and respectively defining the cooling surface and the heating surface; a plurality of interelement electrodes respectively provided on opposed surfaces of the flexible boards and configured to electrically connect the thermoelectric elements to each other; a lead wire configured to be electrically connected to an interelement electrode to which a terminal element located at an end of an electrical arrangement is connected; and a reinforcing pattern interposed between the flexible boards and being closer to the drawn-out lead wire with respect to the terminal element.

A thermoelectric device with multiple headers and a method of manufacturing such a device are provided herein. In some embodiments, a thermoelectric device includes multiple thermoelectric legs, a cold header thermally attached to the thermoelectric legs, and a hot header thermally attached to the thermoelectric legs opposite the cold header. At least one of the cold header and the hot header includes at least one score line. According to some embodiments disclosed herein, this the thermal stress on the thermoelectric device can be greatly reduced or relieved by splitting the header into multiple pieces or by scoring the header by a depth X. This enables the use of larger thermoelectric devices and/or thermoelectric devices with an increased lifespan.

A thermoelectric converter includes a first substrate that is deformable, a second substrate that is deformable, a plurality of thermoelectric conversion elements, and a group of electrodes. The plurality of thermoelectric conversion elements are disposed between the first substrate and the second substrate. The group of electrodes electrically interconnect the plurality of thermoelectric conversion elements. The plurality of thermoelectric conversion elements are arranged in a plurality of rows. The group of electrodes include a bridge electrode disposed across a first row and a second row among the plurality of rows. The first row is adjacent to the second row. The bridge electrode has a first part whose thickness is smaller than a thickness of each of remaining electrodes other than the bridge electrode among the group of electrodes and whose surface area is larger than a surface area of each of the remaining electrodes.

The invention relates to a thermoelectric module, having an electric insulation, an electric conductor path, one surface of the electric conductor path being attached to a surface of the electrical insulation, and a thermoelectric material, one surface of the thermoelectric material being attached to another surface of the conductor path.

A thermoelectric module includes a low temperature-side wiring line, a high temperature-side wiring line, a low temperature-side member, a plurality of low temperature-side thermoelectric conversion elements made of a BiTe-based material, a high temperature-side member, a plurality of high temperature-side thermoelectric conversion elements made of a material different from the BiTe-based material, an insulating member, a radiant heat blocking plate, a low temperature-side electrode, and a high temperature-side electrode. The radiant heat blocking plate is arranged on the side of the high temperature-side member with respect to the low temperature-side wiring line and the high temperature-side wiring line. A thermoelectric module that can restrain burning of wiring lines, as well as a thermoelectric power generating apparatus and a thermoelectric generator including the same can thereby be obtained.