High-performance skutterudite/half-heusler cascaded thermoelectric module using the transient liquid phase sintering joining technique

Abstract

Thermoelectric (TE) materials have made rapid advancement in the past decade, paving the pathway toward the design of solid-state waste heat recovery systems. The next requirement in the design process is realization of full-scale multistage TE devices in the medium to high temperature range for enhanced power generation. Here, we report the design and manufacturing of full-scale skutterudite (SKD)/half-Heusler (hH) cascaded TE devices with 49-couple TE legs for each stage. The automated pick-and-place tool is employed for module fabrication providing overall high manufacturing process efficiency and repeatability. Optimized Ti/Ni/Au coating layers are developed for metallization as the diffusion barrier and electrode contact layers. The Cu-Sn transient liquid phase sintering technique is utilized for SKD and hH stages, which provides a high strength bonding and very low contact resistance. A remarkably high output power of 38.3 W with a device power density of 2.8 W center dot cm-2 at a temperature gradient of 513 degrees C is achieved. These results provide an avenue for widespread utilization of TE technology in waste heat recovery applications.