{"title":"Solid solution formation: improving the thermoelectric properties of skutterudites","authors":"A. Borshchevsky, T. Caillat, J. Fleurial","doi":"10.1109/ICT.1996.553267","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/ICT.1996.553267","url":null,"abstract":"Skutterudite semiconductors possess attractive transport properties and have a good potential for achieving high thermoelectric figures of merit, ZT. Low electrical resistivities and moderate to large Seebeck coefficients are obtained in binary skutterudite compounds such as CoSb/sub 3/. However, their thermal conductivities are too high (100 to 150 /spl times/10/sup -3/ Wcm/sup -1/K/sup -1/ at 300 K) to achieve high ZT values. It is well known that the formation of solid solutions, or alloying, can substantially reduce the lattice thermal conductivity of semiconductors. Because a large number of skutterudite compounds, solid solutions and related phases exist, these materials offer many possibilities for optimizing the thermal and electrical properties to a specific range of temperature. An overview of the formation of skutterudite solid solutions is given. It is shown that a substantial decrease of thermal conductivity can be achieved in cases where the fluctuations of atomic masses and volumes can be maximized and the possibility of achieving high ZT values is discussed.","PeriodicalId":447328,"journal":{"name":"Fifteenth International Conference on Thermoelectrics. Proceedings ICT '96","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1996-03-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"115127796","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Multi-element thermoelectric converters","authors":"L. Anatychuk, B.N. Dernchuk","doi":"10.1109/ICT.1996.553501","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/ICT.1996.553501","url":null,"abstract":"The study and design results of multi-element thermoelectric batteries with small section of legs for low-powered thermoelectric generators, weak current cooling modules and high-sensitivity sensors have been presented. The production technology of thermoelectric modules with leg cross-section more than 0.5 x 0.5 mm and length of 1-5 mm and more has been well developed. With such modules the problems of thermoelectric generators of more than 1-10 W and thermoelectric coolers with supply current of more than 1 A production have been solved. The analysis shows that possibilities for thermoelectricity practical application is substantially extended if development engineers of thermoelectric equipment have the possibility to use thermoelectric converters with small leg cross-section. In this case low-powered thermoelectric generators competitive in a number of cases to chemical electrical sources can be developed, the need in such sources is rather great.","PeriodicalId":447328,"journal":{"name":"Fifteenth International Conference on Thermoelectrics. Proceedings ICT '96","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1996-03-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"115349386","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Z. Dashevsky, D. Rabinovich, G. Fish, S. Kokolova, A. Lewis
{"title":"Ultrafast response and high sensitivity semiconductor thermocouple","authors":"Z. Dashevsky, D. Rabinovich, G. Fish, S. Kokolova, A. Lewis","doi":"10.1109/ICT.1996.553500","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/ICT.1996.553500","url":null,"abstract":"The thermocouple consists of an internal wire (Pt, Au, Ag) inside a glass tube that is pulled down to a diameter of 1-2 /spl mu/m or less. Probes are available with second electrode (leg) from film semiconductor evaporated on the outside of the glass tube. Semiconductor PbTe doping special impurity, provides constant high multitude of the thermoelectric power in the wide temperature interval (-100-200/spl deg/C). Sensitivity of the thermocouple is from 2000 to 300 /spl mu/V/K and does not change for a long time. Special protection on the base of the ultrathin polymer layer permits use of the thermocouple in an aggressive atmosphere. Calculations indicate the response time of the thermocouple is 1 /spl mu/sec. The suitability of this thermocouple for light intensity measurements with micrometer spatial resolution is demonstrated by measuring the focused beam of the laser. In addition, such thermocouples are intrinsically suitable for applications in scanned probe microscopies. All these unique advantages make the pipette thermocouples a new and extremely promising sensor in a variety of applications including microelectronics, microbiology and others.","PeriodicalId":447328,"journal":{"name":"Fifteenth International Conference on Thermoelectrics. Proceedings ICT '96","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1996-03-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"127291376","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Power performance of US space radioisotope thermoelectric generators","authors":"G. Bennett, E. A. Skrabek","doi":"10.1109/ICT.1996.553506","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/ICT.1996.553506","url":null,"abstract":"Since 1961, the United States has flown 41 radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs) and one reactor to provide power for 25 space power systems. Thirty-eight of these nuclear power sources on 22 space systems are still in space or on other planetary bodies. This paper summarizes the design and power performance of each of the basic RTG types that have been flown which have been based on telluride and silicon-germanium thermoelectric elements. To date, US radioisotope thermoelectric generators have successfully operated for over 24 years in space. These RTGs have met or exceeded their prelaunch requirements and in so doing they have greatly expanded humanity's knowledge of the universe.","PeriodicalId":447328,"journal":{"name":"Fifteenth International Conference on Thermoelectrics. Proceedings ICT '96","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1996-03-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"129280796","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A view to recent developments in thermoelectric sensors","authors":"R. Fettig","doi":"10.1109/ICT.1996.553499","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/ICT.1996.553499","url":null,"abstract":"Different types of thermoelectric radiation detectors are presented, as well as sensors like AC-power sensors, and gas pressure sensors. The suitability of thermoelectric radiation detectors for different applications is discussed and compared to photon detectors and other thermal detectors. In a systematic order, the characteristics of different device production techniques, of different thin thermoelectric films, and of different devices are listed, and their potential for further developments is discussed. The combination of thermoelectric materials and CMOS technology gave, and gives exciting new impulses to the field. For that reason, this subject is a dominant part of the paper.","PeriodicalId":447328,"journal":{"name":"Fifteenth International Conference on Thermoelectrics. Proceedings ICT '96","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1996-03-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"116271683","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
M. Kobayashi, K. Ikoma, K. Furuya, K. Shinohara, H. Takao, M. Miyoshi, Y. Imanishi, T. Watanabe
{"title":"Thermoelectric generation and related properties of conventional type module based on Si-Ge alloy","authors":"M. Kobayashi, K. Ikoma, K. Furuya, K. Shinohara, H. Takao, M. Miyoshi, Y. Imanishi, T. Watanabe","doi":"10.1109/ICT.1996.553507","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/ICT.1996.553507","url":null,"abstract":"A conventional type thermoelectric module based on Si/sub 2/Ge has been made for power use. The module consists of 10 pairs of p- and n-type Si/sub 2/Ge elements in which B and P were doped (/spl sim/10/sup 20/ cm/sup -3/) respectively. The elements electrically connected in series using Mo electrodes are sandwiched between AIN plates. Each plate is 20 mm/spl times/44 mm in area, and the height of the module is about 12 mm. The power generation of the module was evaluated as a function of temperature difference between the upper (T/sub u/) and the lower (T/sub 1/) plates; a series circuit including the module and a reference resistance (/spl sim/0.5 ohm, comparable to the electrical resistance of the module) was used. With rising T/sub u/, the closed circuit current (I/sub c/), the voltage drop of the reference resistance (V/sub c/), and the open circuit voltage of the module (V/sub 0/) were measured. Maximum power calculated from I/sub c/, V/sub c/ and V/sub 0/ was about 1.3 W at T/sub u/-T/sub 1//spl sim/400 K (T/sub u//spl sim/700 K). The electrical properties of Si/sub 2/Ge elements were also presented as well as the detailed experimental procedure.","PeriodicalId":447328,"journal":{"name":"Fifteenth International Conference on Thermoelectrics. Proceedings ICT '96","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1996-03-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"113944169","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
O. B. Sokolov, S. Skipidarov, N. I. Duvankov, E. V. Zaitsev
{"title":"Doping with organic halogen-containing compounds the Bi2(Te,Se)3 solid solutions","authors":"O. B. Sokolov, S. Skipidarov, N. I. Duvankov, E. V. Zaitsev","doi":"10.1109/ICT.1996.553251","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/ICT.1996.553251","url":null,"abstract":"The paper considers the opportunity for the doping with organic halogen-containing compounds the Bi/sub 2/(Te,Se)/sub 3/ solid solutions. The advantages of their application as compared to that of inorganic halogen-containing compounds are described.","PeriodicalId":447328,"journal":{"name":"Fifteenth International Conference on Thermoelectrics. Proceedings ICT '96","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1996-03-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"114000664","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Comparison of different pressing techniques for the preparation of n-type silicon-germanium thermoelectric alloys","authors":"J. Harringa, B. Cook","doi":"10.1109/ICT.1996.553277","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/ICT.1996.553277","url":null,"abstract":"Improvements to state-of-the-art Si/sub 80/Ge/sub 20/ thermoelectric alloys have been observed in laboratory-scale samples by the application of the powder metallurgical techniques of mechanical alloying and hot pressing. Incorporating these improvements in large scale compacts for the production of thermoelectric generator elements is the next step in achieving higher efficiency RTG's. This paper discusses consolidation of large quantities of mechanically alloyed powders into production size compacts. Differences in thermoelectric properties are noted between the compacts prepared by the standard technique of hot uniaxial pressing and hot isostatic pressing. Most significant is the difference in carrier concentration between the alloys prepared by the two consolidation techniques.","PeriodicalId":447328,"journal":{"name":"Fifteenth International Conference on Thermoelectrics. Proceedings ICT '96","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1996-03-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"115857535","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The phonon drag effect on thermopower in p-CdTe","authors":"Y. Gurevich, S. Vacková, K. Žďánský","doi":"10.1109/ICT.1996.553296","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/ICT.1996.553296","url":null,"abstract":"Cadmium telluride (CdTe) is a wide band-gap semiconductor which has many applications in various fields, from detectors of nuclear radiation to infra-red diodes and solar cells. The aim of this paper is to describe the new observed experimental effect-the influence of temperature gradient /spl Delta/T on the electrical properties of the systems: Au/p-CdTe/Au (Au/CT/Au), Au/p-Cd/sub 0.96/Zn/sub 0.04/Te/Au (Au/CZT/Au). Its explanation based on theory, the role of non-equilibrium carriers appearing due to /spl Delta/T, is given. The interpretation of the results is based on extended thermo emission-diffusion theories of charge carrier transport through a Schottky diode structure. The influence of Richardson constant was also considered for carriers passing from the metal into the semiconductor.","PeriodicalId":447328,"journal":{"name":"Fifteenth International Conference on Thermoelectrics. Proceedings ICT '96","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1996-03-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"115960499","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
J. Schilz, M. Riffel, R. Mathesius, G. Schiller, R. Henne, R.W. Smith
{"title":"Plasma spray forming as a novel production method for thermoelectric materials","authors":"J. Schilz, M. Riffel, R. Mathesius, G. Schiller, R. Henne, R.W. Smith","doi":"10.1109/ICT.1996.553259","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/ICT.1996.553259","url":null,"abstract":"To date the development of thermoelectric materials and technology has reached a level, that allows the fabrication of reliable generators. It now turns out that the main impediment on the way to large scale, commercial (terrestrial) applications is primarily not the comparable low efficiency of the devices, but the high investment costs, which are still on the order of several ten Dollars per Watt. Necessary conditions for cost reduction are the availability of (i) cheap, non-toxic materials in large quantities and (ii) processing methods which allow efficient production; preferably the formation of complete device structures within a single, automized manufacturing step. This paper introduces plasma spraying as a forming process with the potential to fulfil the above stated condition. The paper reports on first studies on the consolidation and characterization of iron disilicide (FeSi/sub 2/). It was found that plasma spray forming is applicable to produce dense materials with properties comparable to hot-pressed ones.","PeriodicalId":447328,"journal":{"name":"Fifteenth International Conference on Thermoelectrics. Proceedings ICT '96","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1996-03-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"114914263","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}