JP2002111084A - Method for manufacturing thermoelectric module - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for manufacturing a thermoelectric module in a short time while reducing the labor extremely in which p-type and n-type thermoelectric elements can be positioned with high accuracy while preventing erroneous arrangement. SOLUTION: P-type and n-type thermoelectric materials of a specified thickness are cut into rods, and the rod members of n-type and p-type thermoelectric materials are bonded such that they are arranged alternately in parallel with each other with a spacer being inserted inbetween, thus forming a bonded body. Subsequently, the bonded body is cut in the direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the rod material, and every other rows of the cut members are shifted along the cut face so that the p-type faces the n-type. Furthermore, the cut members 10 are bonded by inserting a spacer inbetween to obtain a bonded body 6b where the adjacent thermoelectric materials entirely have opposite conductivity types in the longitudinal and lateral directions. The structural body 6b is bonded onto lower electrodes 7 arranged in matrix on a lower substrate 8 such that a pair of adjacent p-type and n-type chips touch each other.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a thermoelectric module used for thermoelectric power generation, thermoelectric cooling and the like.
In particular, the present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a thermoelectric module with a reduced number of manufacturing steps.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a thermoelectric module, a plurality of thermoelectric elements are arranged in parallel with each other between a heat-absorbing substrate and a heat-radiating substrate which are arranged in parallel with each other. The heat-absorbing electrode and the heat-dissipating electrode provided on the opposing surface of the substrate by printing or the like are joined. A pair of p-type and n-type thermoelectric elements are disposed adjacent to each electrode, and another thermoelectric element connected to the same heat-absorbing side electrode is connected to the same heat-radiation side electrode as a different thermoelectric element. It is connected to the. Thus, all the thermoelectric elements are connected in series via the electrodes.

[0003] The thermoelectric module thus configured is
When an electric current is applied to each thermoelectric element, heat moves from the heat-absorbing substrate side to the heat-radiating substrate side due to the Peltier effect of the thermoelectric element, the heat-absorbing substrate is cooled, and the heat-radiating substrate generates heat. . Utilizing such an effect of the thermoelectric module, it is used for a cooling device, a temperature control device, and the like.

[0004] As a method of manufacturing a thermoelectric module in which a plurality of pairs of thermoelectric elements are arranged in series, the following method is conventionally known. FIGS. 7A and 7B are schematic views illustrating a method of manufacturing the thermoelectric module of Conventional Example 1 in the order of steps. In the method of manufacturing the thermoelectric module of Conventional Example 1, as shown in FIG. 7A, first, a slice material 100 having a predetermined thickness made of a p-type thermoelectric element material is diced in the vertical and horizontal directions. Form a rectangular parallelepiped. Similarly, the n-type thermoelectric element material is similarly diced. Next, as shown in FIG. 7B, each of the n-type chips 101 and p made of the diced n-type and p-type thermoelectric element materials is formed.
The mold chips 102 are arranged in pairs on electrodes (not shown) on the substrate 103. At this time, the chips are arranged so that the adjacent chips have the opposite conductivity types. In the conventional method of manufacturing a thermoelectric module, a comb-shaped jig is used in order to arrange the p-type chip 101 and the n-type chip 102 so that they are all adjacent to each other.

[0005] Also, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-18109 discloses that
In order to improve the performance of a thermoelectric module, a method of manufacturing a thermoelectric module using a small and thin thermoelectric element has been disclosed (Prior art 2). 8 (a) to 8 (d)
FIG. 8E is a cross-sectional view illustrating a method of manufacturing the thermoelectric module of Conventional Example 2 in the order of steps, and FIG. 8E is a top view of FIG.

[0006] As shown in FIG.
8, a thermoelectric semiconductor material 201 having a thickness of 2 mm and a vertical and horizontal size of 20 mm was attached with wax, and FIG.
As shown in (b), the glass substrate 20 was vertically and horizontally oriented using a dicing saw having a blade thickness of 200 μm.
2 Cut up to the surface. Thereby, the glass substrate 202
The top is made of thermoelectric element material, and one side of the cross section is 100μ.
A p-type or n-type column for m and a height of 2 mm for a thermoelectric element is formed. Next, as shown in FIG. 8 (c), the pillars 203a and 204a made of p-type and n-type thermoelectric materials which have been cut and formed into a column shape face each other, and the void is filled with an epoxy resin 205. And fix it. Next, after peeling the glass plate 202 from the pillars 203a and 204a, as shown in FIG. 8D, the pillars 203a and 204a of the p-type and n-type thermoelectric materials and the epoxy resin 205 are formed.
Is polished by cutting into a desired thickness. FIG. 8E shows a top view of FIG. 8D. As described above, in the direction parallel to each of the four sides, the thermoelectric elements adjacent to each other are all of the opposite conductivity type. Then these p
A silver paste is printed to provide electrical wiring so that the type and n-type thermoelectric elements 203b and 204b are connected in series.

[0007]

However, the technique of the prior art 1 has a problem that when arranging the p-type and n-type chips, it is easy to misplace the p-type or the n-type chip. Further, since it is necessary to handle the chips one by one with tweezers at the time of assembling, scratches and dirt are easily attached to the chips, and furthermore, the number of work steps is extremely large and the work time is long.

In the technique of Conventional Example 2, the p-type and n-type thermoelectric element materials are arranged after forming the columns of the p-type and n-type thermoelectric element materials, respectively. There is a problem. Furthermore, a gap is required between adjacent thermoelectric elements to fill the epoxy resin, and there is a problem that the thermoelectric module cannot be sufficiently reduced in size.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, has a very small number of working steps, can be manufactured in a short time, and has high accuracy in positioning p-type and n-type thermoelectric elements without misplacement. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method of manufacturing a thermoelectric module that can perform the method.

[0010]

According to a method of manufacturing a thermoelectric module according to the present invention, a pair of a p-type thermoelectric element and an n-type thermoelectric element are respectively arranged on each lower electrode on a substrate, and one of the adjacent electrodes is arranged. In a method for manufacturing a thermoelectric module configured by connecting an upper end of an upper p-type thermoelectric element and an n-type thermoelectric element on the other electrode by an upper electrode, the p-type and n-type thermoelectric materials are cut into rods to form rods. Obtaining a material, and alternately inserting a first spacer between the n-type thermoelectric material bar and the p-type thermoelectric material bar and arranging them in parallel, and joining them together.
Cutting the joined body in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the bar, inserting a second spacer between the cut members, and p-type and n-type thermoelectric materials between adjacent members. Displacing the members along the cut surface so that they face each other and then joining and integrating the members together; and adjoining the integrated member on a substrate on which a plurality of lower electrodes are arranged in a matrix. And bonding the pair of p-type thermoelectric materials and the n-type thermoelectric material so as to be in contact with one lower electrode.

In the present invention, a p-type thermoelectric material and an n-type thermoelectric material are previously arranged alternately in both the vertical and horizontal directions to form an integrated member, which is then arranged on a substrate. Without misplacement of the n-type thermoelectric material, the assembly process of the thermoelectric module is further facilitated. Further, since the first or second spacer is provided between the p-type thermoelectric material and the n-type thermoelectric material, the thermoelectric materials are arranged with higher precision than those arranged one by one. be able to.

The substrate, the lower electrode, and the member have a rectangular shape in a top view, and the member is arranged on the substrate such that sides of the member are parallel to sides of the substrate. can do.

It is preferable that the first spacer and the second spacer are made of glass. Since the side surfaces of the thermoelectric material are surrounded by the glass spacers by the first and second spacers, the thermoelectric material can be protected from external moisture.

[0014]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described.
This will be specifically described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 5 (b)
FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating the thermoelectric module of the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 5B, in the thermoelectric module of the present embodiment, a plurality of lower electrodes 7 are arranged on a lower substrate 8,
A pair of p-type and n-type thermoelectric elements are arranged on these lower electrodes 7 via glass spacers 4 and 5. The glass spacers 4 and 5 are provided on the side surfaces of each thermoelectric element. Therefore, the side surfaces of each thermoelectric element are covered with the glass spacers 4 and 5. Further, on these thermoelectric elements, an upper substrate (not shown) having a lower electrode formed on the back surface side is arranged. The upper electrode is composed of a p-type thermoelectric element of a pair of p-type and n-type thermoelectric elements disposed on the lower electrode, and a pair of thermoelectric elements disposed on another lower electrode adjacent to the lower electrode. The element is connected to an n-type thermoelectric element.
Thus, all p-type and n-type thermoelectric elements are electrically connected in series.

In the thermoelectric module configured as described above, since the side surfaces of all the thermoelectric elements are covered with the spacers, the thermoelectric module has high mechanical strength, prevents moisture due to condensation and the like, and has excellent corrosion resistance. .

Next, a method for manufacturing the thermoelectric module according to this embodiment will be described. 1 to 5 are schematic views showing a method of manufacturing a thermoelectric module according to an embodiment of the present invention in the order of steps.

In the method of manufacturing a thermoelectric module according to this embodiment, first, as shown in FIG. 1, a p-type thermoelectric element material 1 sliced to a predetermined thickness is diced into a bar to obtain a bar. The width w of the diced bar can be the width of the thermoelectric element used in the thermoelectric module. Similarly, an n-type thermoelectric element material (not shown) is diced into a bar having a width w to obtain a bar.

Next, as shown in FIG. 2A, a spacer 4 made of, for example, glass is inserted between the p-type bar 2 and the n-type bar 3. Then, as shown in FIG. 2B, a p-type bar 2 and an n-type bar 3 are alternately provided between them.
Are arranged in parallel in a state of being inserted, and are joined to each other. That is,
p-type bar 2, spacer 4, n-type bar 3, spacer 4, p
A desired number of the bar members 2 are sequentially attached to the die bar members 2,..., And the p-type bar members 2 and the n-type bar members 3 are alternately arranged via the spacers 4 to obtain a bonded body 6a. The width of the spacer 4 is, for example, the width between the thermoelectric elements when the thermoelectric elements are modularized. The spacer 4 and the p-type bar 2 or the n-type bar 3 can be bonded by using an adhesive having a low thermal conductivity and an insulating property.

Then, as shown in FIG. 3, the joined body 6a is diced in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the bar of the joined body 6a, that is, in a direction perpendicular to the surface on which each member is attached. The dicing width at this time is, for example, p-type and n-type.
The width w can be the same as that of the die-shaped tip. Thereby, the rectangular p-type bar 2 and the n-type bar 3
A bar-shaped member 9 is formed in which the mold chips 2a and the n-type chips 3a are alternately stuck to each other via spacers.

Next, as shown in FIG.
For example, the n-type chip 3a and the p-type are shifted so that the n-type chip 3a and the p-type
The mold chip 2a is arranged so as to be adjacent to the mold chip 2a. At this time,
By inserting a spacer 5 made of, for example, glass, between the rod-shaped members 9 formed by dicing the joined body 6a, the spacer 4 or 5 is arranged between adjacent elements. And these members are joined and integrated. Then, when this member is appropriately diced to the size of the thermoelectric module, as shown in FIG. 4B, p-type and n-type thermoelectric materials are inserted, and the spacers 4 or 5 are inserted therebetween.
The joined bodies 6b are alternately arranged in a matrix.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 5, a joined body 6b is joined to a substrate 8 on which electrodes 7 are formed in a matrix by applying, for example, solder or the like. At this time, bonding is performed such that a pair of adjacent p-type thermoelectric elements and n-type thermoelectric elements of the bonded body 6b are in contact with one lower electrode 7. Further, an electrode (not shown) for connecting the p-type chip 2a on the electrode 7 and the n-type chip 3a on the electrode 7 adjacent to the electrode 7 is formed on the joined body 6b by, for example, printing or the like. Then, the p-type chip 2a and the n-type chip 3a of the joined body 6b are electrically connected so as to be in series.

The spacers 4 and 5 preferably have a low thermal conductivity from the viewpoint of heat exchange efficiency, but are not limited to glass as long as they are insulators.

Next, a method of forming the joined body 6b will be described in more detail. When forming the joined body 6b by shifting the joined body 6a every other row, in order to insert the spacer 5 between the rod-shaped members 9 and to arrange them accurately in a matrix,
For example, a jig can be used. FIG. 6A is a perspective view showing a jig used in the present embodiment, and FIGS. 6B and 6C are perspective views showing a method of using the jig of FIG.

As shown in FIG. 6A, the jig 10 used to form the joined body 6b of this embodiment has a plurality of protrusions 10a having a chip width L1 (bar width w). The interval between the adjacent protrusions 10a is the sum of the chip width L1 and the spacer width L2 disposed on both sides of the chip, and the protrusion 10a projects by the sum of the chip width L1 and the spacer width L2. I have. In order to insert the spacer 5 between the adjacent rod-shaped members, a concave portion 10b for fitting the spacer 5 is provided.

When such a jig 10 is used, first, as shown in FIG. 6B, the spacer 5 is inserted into the concave portion 10b of the jig 10. Next, as shown in FIG. 6C, the rod members 9 are inserted so that the spacers 5 are arranged between the adjacent rod members 9. At this time, due to the protrusion 10a formed on the jig 10, the adjacent rod-shaped members 9 are shifted by the chip width L1 + the spacer width L2, and the positions of the p-type chip 2a and the n-type chip 3a of the adjacent rod-shaped members 9 are determined. And the p-type and n-type chips are arranged in a matrix.
If the jig 10 of this embodiment is used, the bar-shaped members 9 can be shifted every other row to form a joined body 6b in which p-type and n-type chips are accurately arranged in a matrix. In addition, when the joined body 6b is formed, similarly to the joining of the spacer 4 and the p-type bar 2 or the n-type bar 3, the thermal conductivity is low.
The joining can be performed using an adhesive having insulating properties.

In the thermoelectric module manufactured in this manner, the p-type and n-type bars are alternately arranged in parallel with the spacer 4 interposed therebetween, and the joined body is joined only by dicing and moving. Can be arranged alternately with each other, which greatly simplifies the manufacturing process,
When the assembly 6b in which the type and n-type thermoelectric elements are alternately arranged in a matrix in a matrix is arranged on the substrate, the assembly is completed, so that the misalignment of the p-type chip and the n-type chip during assembly is prevented. can do. In addition, since the spacers 4 and 5 made of glass are interposed, it is possible to prevent moisture of the thermoelectric module and improve the mechanical strength of the thermoelectric module. Further, by inserting such spacers 4 and 5 between the p-type and n-type thermoelectric elements, the chip can always be stably arranged at a predetermined position of the electrode on the substrate, and a high-precision thermoelectric element can be provided. You can get a module.

In this embodiment, the present invention is applied to a so-called skeleton type module having no heat radiation side substrate. However, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment, but includes a thermoelectric module having a heat radiation side substrate and a heat absorption side substrate. , Or a multi-stage module.

[0028]

As described in detail above, according to the present invention,
A rod-shaped p-type and n-type thermoelectric material is bonded in advance through a spacer to form one joined body.
Type and n-type thermoelectric materials are alternately arranged adjacent to each other via spacers and joined together to form an integrated member, which is used to assemble the thermoelectric module. In addition, since the spacers are arranged between the elements without erroneously arranging the p-type and the n-type, the elements can be arranged with high precision and the mechanical strength can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing one step of a method for manufacturing a thermoelectric module according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a view showing one step of the method for manufacturing a thermoelectric module according to the embodiment of the present invention, and is a schematic view showing a step subsequent to the step shown in FIG. 1;

3 is a view showing one step of the method for manufacturing a thermoelectric module according to the embodiment of the present invention, and is a schematic view showing a step subsequent to the step shown in FIG. 2. FIG.

4 is a view showing one step of the method for manufacturing a thermoelectric module according to the embodiment of the present invention, and is a schematic view showing a step subsequent to the step shown in FIG. 3;

5 is a view showing one step of the method for manufacturing the thermoelectric module according to the embodiment of the present invention, and is a schematic view showing the step subsequent to the step shown in FIG.

6A is a perspective view showing a jig used in an embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 6B and 6C are perspective views showing a method of using the jig shown in FIG. .

FIGS. 7A and 7B are schematic views showing a method of manufacturing the thermoelectric module of Conventional Example 1 in the order of steps.

FIGS. 8A to 8D are cross-sectional views showing a method of manufacturing the thermoelectric module of Conventional Example 2 in the order of steps, and FIG.
FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1, 100; thermoelectric element material 2: p-type bar material 3: n-type bar material 4, 5, spacer 6a, 6b; joined body 7, lower electrode 8, lower substrate 9, bar-shaped member 10, jig 2a; n Type chip 3a: p-type chip 101; p-type thermoelectric element 102; n-type thermoelectric element 103; substrate 201; thermoelectric element material 202; glass substrate 203a; pillar of p-type thermoelectric element 203b; p-type thermoelectric element 204a; Element pillar 204b; n-type thermoelectric element 205; epoxy resin

Claims (3)

[Claims] A pair of a p-type thermoelectric element and an n-type thermoelectric element are respectively arranged on each lower electrode on a substrate, and a p-type thermoelectric element on one adjacent electrode and an n-type thermoelectric element on the other electrode. In a method of manufacturing a thermoelectric module in which upper ends of elements are connected by an upper electrode, a step of cutting a p-type and an n-type thermoelectric material into a rod to obtain a rod; A step of alternately inserting a first spacer between them and arranging them in parallel and joining them together, and a step of cutting the joined body in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the rods And inserting a second spacer between each of the cut members and displacing the members along the cut surface such that the p-type thermoelectric material and the n-type thermoelectric material face each other between the adjacent members. And a process of integrating a plurality of lower electrodes in a matrix And bonding the integrated member on the substrate so that the pair of adjacent p-type thermoelectric materials and the n-type thermoelectric material are in contact with one lower electrode. Manufacturing method of thermoelectric module. 2. The substrate, the lower electrode, and the member have a rectangular shape in a top view, and the member is placed on the substrate such that a side of the member and a side of the substrate are parallel to each other. The method for manufacturing a thermoelectric module according to claim 1, wherein 3. The device according to claim 1, wherein the first spacer and the second spacer are made of glass.
3. The method for manufacturing a thermoelectric module according to item 1.