Rare-earth-metal-based thermoelectric compositions
AssigneeMinnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company
InventorEdward F. Hampl, Jr.
Life of this patent
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Abstract
N-type thermoelectric compositions based on rare-earth metal selected from gadolinium and erbium and chalcogen selected from selenium and tellurium.
Claims5
In a thermoelectric generator, an N-type thermoelectric leg, at least part of the length of which consists essentially of a defect-doped, mixed-valence, N-type thermoelectric composition that exhibits a negative absolute Seebeck coefficient of at least 175 microvolts/.degree.C. and consists essentially of rare-earth metal selected from gadolinium and erbium and chalcogen selected from selenium and tellurium, with from 0 to about 5 atomic-percent of the metal being replaced with cerium, neodymium, praseodymium, yttrium, or a mixed-valence transition element and with from 0 to about 5 atomic percent of the chalcogen being replaced with sulfur or oxygen, and the ratio of chalcogen elements to metal elements being between 1.47 and slightly less than 1.5 to 1;
- at least about 99 area-percent of said composition being a single phase.
In a thermoelectric generator, a N-type thermoelectric leg, at least part of the length of which consists essentially of a defect-doped, mixed-valence, N-type thermoelectric composition that exhibits a negative absolute Seebeck coefficient of at least 175 microvolts/.degree.C. at 500.degree. C and consists essentially of gadolinium and selenium, with from 0 to about 5 atomic-percent of the gadolinium being replaced with iron, and the ratio of chalcogen elements to metal elements being between 1.47 and slightly less than 1.5 to 1;
- at least about 99 area-percent of said composition being a single phase.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.