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US 2008/0289677 A1Published application
Composite thermoelectric materials and method of manufacture
AssigneeBsst LLC
InventorsLon E. Bell, Dmitri Kossakovski
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Abstract
The present disclosure describes a improved composite thermoelectric and an accompanying method. In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, the thermoelectric is constructed in layers from a perform of a stack of layers, and then treated or otherwise modified in order to create a thinner thermoelectric structure.
Claims35
A thermoelectric structure comprising:
- a plurality of thermoelectric (TE) layers comprising:
- a first TE layer comprising a first material and having a first thickness generally perpendicular to the plurality of TE layers, the first material having a first set of thermoelectric properties;
- and
- a second TE layer comprising a second material and having a second thickness generally perpendicular to the plurality of TE layers, the second material having a second set of thermoelectric properties, the second material different from the first material, wherein the plurality of TE layers has a third thickness generally perpendicular to the plurality of TE layers and a width generally parallel to the plurality of TE layers, the third thickness less than the width, wherein the first thickness and the second thickness are selected such that upon operation of the thermoelectric structure, the first TE layer is exposed to a first temperature range, the second TE layer is exposed to a second temperature range, the first set of thermoelectric properties providing more efficient performance than the second set of thermoelectric properties in the first temperature range, the second set of thermoelectric properties providing more efficient performance than the first set of thermoelectric properties in the second temperature range.
1 more element
A method of fabricating a thermoelectric element having a first direction along which a thermal differential is maintained upon operation of the thermoelectric element, the method comprising:
- providing a first thermoelectric (TE) layer of a first TE material, the first TE layer having a first thickness along the first direction and the first TE material having a first set of thermoelectric properties;
- providing a second TE layer of a second TE material, the second TE layer having a second thickness along the first direction and the second TE material having a second set of thermoelectric properties;
- structurally coupling the first TE layer and the second TE layer together to form a layered thermoelectric structure, the layered thermoelectric structure having a third thickness along the first direction and a width along a second direction generally perpendicular to the first direction, the third thickness less than the width;
- and
- separating a first portion of the layered thermoelectric structure from a remaining portion of the layered thermoelectric structure, the first portion forming at least a part of the thermoelectric element, wherein the first thickness and the second thickness are selected such that upon operation of the thermoelectric element, the first TE layer of the first portion is exposed to a first temperature range, the second TE layer of the first portion is exposed to a second temperature range, the first set of thermoelectric properties providing more efficient performance than the second set of thermoelectric properties in the first temperature range, and the second set of thermoelectric properties providing more efficient performance than the first set of thermoelectric properties in the second temperature range.
2 more elements
A method of fabricating a thermoelectric element, the method comprising:
- providing a preform comprising a plurality of thermoelectric (TE) layers each having a corresponding thickness, the preform having a thickness along a direction generally perpendicular to the plurality of TE layers and a length along a direction generally perpendicular to the thickness, the length greater than the thickness;
- and
- reducing the thicknesses of the TE layers, thereby forming a structure having a reduced thickness less than the thickness of the preform.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.