JP4826309B2 - Thermo module and method for manufacturing thermo module - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a process for producing Rusa over motor module and the thermo-module used to form the thermo-module for thermoelectric conversion.

Conventionally, a thermo module that performs heat conversion using the Peltier effect, which is one of thermoelectric conversions, has been used in a heating / cooling device or the like (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In this thermo module, a plurality of electrodes are formed at predetermined positions on opposite inner surfaces of a pair of substrates, which are a lower substrate and an upper substrate, which are arranged to face each other, and the thermoelectric elements are respectively connected to the opposite electrodes. A plurality of thermoelectric elements are fixed between a pair of substrates by joining upper and lower end faces. In this case, the electrode is formed in a rectangular shape, and when an N-type thermoelectric element is attached to one end of the electrode, a P-type thermoelectric element is attached to the other end. A pair of thermoelectric elements are attached. In this way, all N-type thermoelectric elements and P-type thermoelectric elements are electrically connected in series via the electrodes.
JP 2002-111084 A

  However, in the conventional thermo module, the lower substrate and the upper substrate have different electrode patterns, and the electrode patterns of the lower substrate and the upper substrate are also formed in various shapes depending on the size and shape of the thermo module. . For this reason, it is necessary to form electrode patterns of various shapes, and in order to form electrode patterns of various shapes, generally, a semiconductor circuit formation technique (photolithography technique) using a resist is used. It has been. However, if the conventional electrode pattern described above is formed by this semiconductor circuit formation technology, the number of processes is increased and the cost is high. In addition, various exposure masks and the like must be prepared according to each electrode pattern. There is a problem that it becomes longer.

The present invention has been made to address the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a thermo module that can reduce the manufacturing process and reduce the manufacturing time by shortening the manufacturing process by using one type of electrode pattern. it is to provide a method for producing Rusa over motor module and the thermo-module used.

In order to achieve the above-described object, the structural feature of the thermo module according to the present invention is that a plurality of electrodes are formed on both opposing surfaces of a pair of insulating substrates arranged to face each other with a predetermined distance therebetween. a thermo-module configured respectively to the electrodes by joining the end faces of the thermoelectric elements, the size of the size of each electrode formed on the surface of the pair of insulating plates can be joined by one of the end faces of the thermoelectric elements of and sets, a plurality of electrodes are arranged keeping a predetermined distance to and fro, solder or silver brazing between predetermined neighboring electrodes that of the multiple electrodes formed on the respective surfaces of the pair of insulating substrates The plurality of electrodes and the plurality of thermoelectric elements are electrically connected by connecting with a conductive bonding material made of

  The thermo module according to the present invention comprises a thermo module substrate configured by arranging electrodes, which are set to a size capable of joining only one end face of a thermoelectric element, on the surface of an insulating substrate in the front, rear, left, and right directions at regular intervals. Used. As an electrode in this case, for example, a square electrode is preferably arranged in a grid shape in the front-rear and left-right directions on the surface of the insulating substrate. And various electrode patterns can be formed by connecting the adjacent arbitrary electrodes in this thermomodule substrate with a conductive bonding material.

  That is, an electrode having the same function as that in the case of forming a long electrode in the front-rear direction can be obtained by connecting two predetermined electrodes arranged in the front-rear direction with a conductive bonding material. However, it is possible to obtain an electrode having the same function as when a long electrode is formed in the left-right direction by connecting two predetermined electrodes with a conductive bonding material. For this reason, the target electrode pattern can be easily formed by connecting predetermined portions between the respective electrodes with the conductive bonding material in accordance with the shape of the electrode pattern to be formed. As a result, it is possible to reduce the number of manufacturing steps of the thermomodule substrate, thereby obtaining a thermomodule capable of reducing the cost and shortening the manufacturing period.

Further , by using solder as the conductive bonding material, the connection between the electrodes can be reliably performed at low cost. In addition, the use of silver brazing as the conductive bonding material increases the melting point of the connecting portion formed between the electrodes. Therefore, after connecting the electrodes by forming the connecting portions, the thermoelectric element is bonded to the electrodes. The choice of bonding material to be used in doing so is expanded.

The feature on another configuration of the thermo-module according to the present invention, the conductive bonding material lies in the this including the cross-linking blocks. In this case, the electrode and the bridging block are fixed with solder or silver solder in a state where the bridging block is arranged between the predetermined electrodes. As this cross-linking block, it is preferable to use copper. According to this, since the electrical resistance of the connection portion is reduced, a thermo module with better performance can be obtained. Furthermore, if the bridging block is spanned between the electrodes, the connection between the electrodes can be ensured. Moreover, as materials other than copper used for a bridge | crosslinking block, metals, such as nickel and iron, and these alloys can be used. Furthermore, other materials can be used as long as they are conductive materials and can connect the electrodes.

In addition, a structural feature of the method for manufacturing a thermomodule according to the present invention is that a plurality of electrodes are formed on both opposing surfaces of a pair of insulating substrates arranged to face each other at predetermined intervals, and each of the opposing electrodes is formed. A thermomodule manufacturing method for manufacturing a thermomodule by fixing an end face of a thermoelectric element, with electrodes having a size capable of joining only one end face of the thermoelectric element on the surface of an insulating substrate at a predetermined interval in front, rear, left and right. And connecting the predetermined adjacent electrodes in the thermomodule substrate formed in the thermomodule substrate forming step and the thermomodule substrate forming step with a conductive bonding material made of solder or silver solder. and the inter-electrode connecting step, the substrate thermo module predetermined neighboring electrodeposition machining gap is connected in the inter-electrode connecting step to pair ready counter of , In that a thermoelectric element bonding step of respectively connecting the end faces of the thermoelectric element to the electrodes of opposing the pair of the thermo-module.

  According to this thermomodule manufacturing method, an electrode pattern having one simple structure is formed, and an arbitrary one of a plurality of electrodes constituting the electrode pattern is connected by a conductive bonding material. Electrode patterns of various shapes connected to can be formed. For this reason, it is not necessary to prepare various exposure masks according to the shape of each electrode pattern to be formed, the number of manufacturing steps can be reduced, the cost can be reduced, and the manufacturing period can be shortened.

(First embodiment)
Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. 1 and 2 show a thermo module 10 according to the embodiment. The thermo module 10 includes a pair of insulating substrates each having a rectangular plate-like lower substrate 11 and an upper substrate 12 made of alumina. Then, a thick lower electrode 13 made of a plurality of copper patterns formed in a square shape in plan view is attached to the upper surface of the lower substrate 11, and the lower electrode is attached to the lower surface of the upper substrate 12 at a constant interval. A thick upper electrode 14 made of a copper pattern having the same shape as 13 is attached.

  In addition, it is preferable to form a plating layer made of nickel plating or nickel plating and gold plating on the surface of the copper pattern constituting the lower electrode 13 and the upper electrode 14. A plurality of thermoelectric elements 15 made of a bismuth-tellurium alloy formed in a rectangular parallelepiped are fixed at the lower end surface to the lower electrode 13 by soldering, and the upper end surface is fixed to the upper electrode 14 by soldering at the lower portion. The substrate 11 and the upper substrate 12 are integrally connected.

  FIG. 3 shows a state in which the lower substrate 11 to which the lower electrode 13 and the thermoelectric element 15 are attached is viewed from above. In the thermo module 10, 48 lower electrodes 13 are formed on the upper surface of the lower substrate 11, and the 48 lower electrodes 13 are formed laterally on the upper surface of the lower substrate 11 (horizontal direction in FIG. 3). Six rows are arranged, and eight lower electrodes 13 are arranged in the vertical direction (vertical direction of FIG. 3 in the longitudinal direction of the lower substrate 11) in each row of the lower electrodes 13 in the six horizontal rows.

  FIG. 4 shows a state in which the upper substrate 12 to which the upper electrode 14 and the thermoelectric element 15 are attached is viewed from above. Forty-eight upper electrodes 14 are formed on the lower surface of the upper substrate 12. Yes. The 48 upper electrodes 14 are arranged in six rows in the horizontal direction on the lower surface of the upper substrate 12, and eight upper electrodes 14 are arranged in the vertical direction in each row of the upper electrodes 14 in the six horizontal rows. Has been. Further, the thermoelectric element 15 is not provided between the lower electrode 13 and the upper electrode 14 at two positions on the front end side (the lower side in the drawing) of the four corners of the lower substrate 11 and the upper substrate 12.

  Lead wires 16a and 16b are attached to the two lower electrodes 13 that are not provided with the thermoelectric elements 15 formed at the four corners of the lower substrate 11, and can be connected to an external device or the like. It has become. The two upper electrodes 14 attached to the corners on the front end side of the upper substrate 12 are not provided with thermoelectric elements 15 or lead wires. For this reason, 46 thermoelectric elements 15 are configured, and the 46 thermoelectric elements 15 are arranged in a grid so that all the vertical and horizontal rows are linear. Similarly to the thermoelectric element 15, the lower electrode 13 and the upper electrode 14 are also arranged in a lattice pattern with their vertical and horizontal intervals kept constant.

  Further, predetermined lower electrodes 13 and 13 among the 48 lower electrodes 13 are connected by a lower connection portion 17 formed of solder, and predetermined upper electrodes 14 and 14 among the 48 upper electrodes 14. The space is connected by an upper connecting portion 18 made of solder. Thus, all of the lower electrode 13, the upper electrode 14, and the thermoelectric element 15 except the two upper electrodes 14 attached to the corner on the front end side of the upper substrate 12 are connected via the lower connection portion 17 and the upper connection portion 18. Are electrically connected.

  That is, the upper end surfaces of the thermoelectric elements 15a and 15b in FIG. 3 are connected via the upper electrodes 14a and 14b and the upper connection portion 18a, and the upper end surfaces of the next thermoelectric elements 15c and 15d are the upper electrodes 14c and 14d and the upper electrodes. The thermoelectric elements 15 are sequentially connected to the lower electrode 13 and the upper electrode 14 via the lower connecting portion 17 and the upper connecting portion 18 in such a manner that they are connected via the connecting portion 18b. The flow of current when a current is passed through the thermomodule 10 is indicated by a line a in FIG. A portion without the lower electrode 13 and the lower connection portion 17 in the line a shown in FIG. 3 indicates a portion passing through the upper electrode 14 and the upper connection portion 18.

  Each thermoelectric element 15 (including thermoelectric elements 15a, 15b, 15c, and 15d) is composed of a P-type thermoelectric element or an N-type thermoelectric element. The type thermoelectric elements are arranged alternately. The P-type thermoelectric element and the N-type thermoelectric element are both made of an alloy containing bismuth and tellurium, but have slightly different compositions.

  Moreover, the dimension of each part which comprises the thermomodule 10 is set as follows. That is, both the lower substrate 11 and the upper substrate 12 are set to have a vertical length of 33 mm, a horizontal length of 25 mm, and a thickness of 1 mm. The lower electrode 13 and the upper electrode 14 are both set to have a length of 3 mm and a thickness of 0.15 mm in the vertical and horizontal directions, and the distance between the lower electrodes 13 and between the upper electrodes 14 in the front-rear and left-right directions. Are all set to 0.8 mm. The thermoelectric element 15 is set to have a length and width of 2 mm and a height of 0.8 mm. In addition, Au—Sn solder was used as the conductive bonding material constituting the lower connecting portion 17 and the upper connecting portion 18.

  Next, a method for manufacturing the thermomodule 10 configured as described above will be described. In the case of manufacturing the thermo module 10, first, a total of 48 rows of 6 rows by 8 rows at intervals of 0.8 mm are respectively formed on the upper surface of the lower substrate 11 and the lower surface of the upper substrate 12 of the size described above. The lower electrode 13 and the upper electrode 14 are formed by metal pattern plating using a photography technique. In this photolithography technique, for example, a lower electrode 13 and an upper electrode 14 are formed using a substance (photoresist) having a property of being easily dissolved in chemicals when exposed to light. A photoresist is applied to the lower surface of the upper substrate 12 to form a resist layer.

  Next, after exposing the surface of the resist layer in a state where a predetermined portion of the surface of the resist layer formed on the upper surface of the lower substrate 11 and the lower surface of the upper substrate 12 is masked, it is immersed in a developer and masked in the resist layer. Remove the part. Then, the lower electrode 13 and the upper electrode 14 are formed by forming electrodes between the resist layers having a predetermined shape and removing the remaining resist layers. FIG. 5 shows a thermomodule lower substrate 11a of the present invention constituted by the lower substrate 11 and the lower electrode 13 among them. Note that the thermomodule upper substrate 12a (see FIG. 7) configured by the upper substrate 12 and the upper electrode 14 has the same structure as the thermomodule lower substrate 11a shown in FIG.

  Next, each of the eight lower electrodes 13 in each row arranged in the front-rear direction on the lower substrate 11a for the thermo module is divided into two groups of the front and rear to form 24 sets. Are connected using Au—Sn solder, and a lower connection portion 17 is formed. As a result, as shown in FIG. 6, it is possible to obtain the thermomodule lower substrate 11 b in which the two front and rear lower electrodes 13 are respectively connected by the lower connection portion 17. Further, each of the six upper electrodes 14 in each row arranged in the front-rear direction, excluding the uppermost electrode 14 in the front row and the last row in the upper substrate 12a for the thermo module, is divided into 18 pairs, each divided into a pair of front and rear. Then, the upper connection portion 18 is formed by connecting the pair of upper electrodes 14 using Au—Sn solder.

  Further, the four upper electrodes 14 excluding the upper electrodes 14 on both sides of the six upper electrodes 14 in the foremost row in the upper substrate 12a for the thermo module are divided into two sets on the left and right to form two sets. The upper connection portions 18 are formed by connecting the upper electrodes 14 of the set using Au—Sn solder. Further, the six upper electrodes 14 in the last row in the thermo-module upper substrate 12a are divided into two groups on the left and right to form three sets, and the three sets of upper electrodes 14 are respectively connected using Au-Sn solder. Thus, the upper connecting portion 18 is formed.

  Thereby, the thermomodule upper substrate 12b shown in FIG. 7 can be obtained. FIG. 7 shows the lower surface of the thermo module upper substrate 12b. However, the upper electrode 14 and the upper connection portion 18 of the thermo module upper substrate 12b are formed symmetrically, so that for the thermo module. Even when the upper substrate 12b is assembled to the thermomodule lower substrate 11b via the thermoelectric element 15, the upper electrode 14 and the upper connection portion 18 are arranged in the same manner as in FIG.

  Further, the thermomodule lower substrate 11b shown in FIG. 6 has the same function as the thermomodule lower substrate 21 shown in FIG. 8, and the thermomodule upper substrate 12b shown in FIG. 9 is provided with the same function as that of the thermomodule upper substrate 22 shown in FIG. That is, the lower module 21 for the thermo module has a rectangular lower electrode 23 in which two thermoelectric elements 15 can be installed on both sides on the upper surface of the lower substrate 11 and is arranged in six rows in the longitudinal direction in the front-rear direction. It is formed in four vertical columns. The vertical and horizontal intervals between the lower electrodes 23 are set to 0.8 mm. That is, the size of the lower electrode 23 is set to a size obtained by adding a set of two lower electrodes 13 in the thermomodule lower substrate 11a and the size of the gap therebetween.

  The thermomodule upper substrate 22 has a rectangular upper electrode 24 on which two thermoelectric elements 15 can be placed on both sides on the lower surface (upper surface in FIG. 9) of the upper substrate 12, and one An upper electrode 24a formed in a square size that allows the thermoelectric element 15 to be installed is formed in a predetermined direction. That is, upper electrodes 24a are formed on both sides of the front end of the upper substrate 22 for the thermo module, and two upper electrodes 24 are formed between the upper electrodes 24a with the longitudinal direction left and right spaced apart. Has been.

  Further, in the last row, three upper electrodes 24 are formed with a longitudinal direction leftward and rightward and spaced from each other. Between the uppermost electrodes 24, 24a in the foremost row and the upper electrode 24 in the last row, 18 upper electrodes 24 are formed. Each of the upper electrodes 24 is formed in six rows and three columns, with the longitudinal direction facing forward and backward. The vertical and horizontal intervals between the upper electrodes 24 and 24a are set to 0.8 mm, as in the case of the thermomodule lower substrate 21.

  FIG. 9 shows the lower surface of the thermomodule upper substrate 22. Since the upper electrodes 24 and 24a of the thermomodule upper substrate 22 are formed symmetrically, the thermomodule upper substrate 22 is Even when assembled to the thermomodule lower substrate 21 via the thermoelectric element 15, the upper electrodes 24, 24a are arranged in the same manner as in FIG. The manufacture of the lower substrate 21 for the thermo module and the upper substrate 22 for the thermo module is different in the pattern of the lower electrode 23 and the patterns of the upper electrodes 24, 24a. Compared with the manufacturing with the substrate 12b, the manufacturing process becomes complicated and the time required for the manufacturing becomes longer.

  Next, thermoelectric elements 15 are arranged on the upper surfaces of all lower electrodes 13 except for the lower electrodes 13 on both sides of the front end portion of the thermomodule lower substrate 11b so that the P-type thermoelectric elements and the N-type thermoelectric elements alternate. . Then, an upper substrate 12b for the thermo module is installed so that the upper electrode 14 is positioned on the upper surface of each thermoelectric element 15, and the upper surface of the lower electrode 13, the lower surface of the thermoelectric element 15, the lower surface of the upper electrode 14, and the thermoelectric element 15 Are bonded to each other by Sn—Sb solder. Thus, the thermo module 10 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is obtained. When joining the lower electrode 13 and the upper electrode 14 and the thermoelectric element 15 with the Sn—Sb solder, the entire thermo module 10 is heated, but the melting point of the Au—Sn solder is higher than that of the Sn—Sb solder. For this reason, the heating for melting the Sn—Sb solder does not affect the lower connecting portion 17 and the upper connecting portion 18.

  Next, a thermo module (not shown) is manufactured using the thermo module lower substrate 21 shown in FIG. 8, the thermo module upper substrate 22 shown in FIG. 9, and the thermoelectric element 15 as a comparative example. The performance of the thermo module was measured for the thermo module according to this comparative example and the thermo module 10. The performance of the thermo module was measured using the apparatus shown in FIGS. That is, in FIG. 10, the temperature adjusting Peltier module 26 is placed on the upper surface of the exhaust heat sink 25, and the thermo module 10 is installed on the upper surface of the Peltier module 26 via the copper plate 27 a.

  Then, a copper plate 27b was placed on the upper surface of the thermo module 10 or the like. Further, a Th (high temperature side temperature) measuring thermocouple 28a is connected to the copper plate 27a in contact with the lower substrate 11 such as the thermo module 10, and the Tc (low temperature side temperature) is connected to the copper plate 28b in contact with the upper substrate 12 of the thermo module 10 or the like. ) A thermocouple for measurement 28b was connected. Then, by operating the temperature adjusting Peltier module 26, while maintaining the indicated value Th of the Th measuring thermocouple 28a to be 100 ° C., a current is passed through the thermo module 10 to be measured and the Tc measurement is performed. The indicated value Tc of the thermocouple 28b was measured.

  Then, the maximum value ΔT of the temperature difference, which is the difference between the instruction value Th and the instruction value Tc, was compared as a measurement result. That is, in the thermo module 10 and the like, since the power generation amount increases as the temperature difference generated between the lower substrate 11 and the upper substrate 12 increases, a thermo module having a larger maximum temperature difference ΔT is a more efficient thermo module. It can be judged that there is. Further, the apparatus shown in FIG. 11 is the same as the apparatus shown in FIG. 10 except that a heater 29 is provided on the upper surface of the copper plate 28b of the apparatus shown in FIG.

  Then, the heater 29 is operated to generate heat, and the temperature adjustment is performed so that the indicated value Th of the Th measuring thermocouple 28a and the indicated value Tc of the Tc measuring thermocouple 28b are the same temperature (for example, 27 ° C.). It is controlled by the operation of the Peltier module 26). Next, while gradually increasing the output of the heater 29 and increasing the current flowing through the thermomodule 10 and the like, the instruction value Th and the instruction value Tc are adjusted to be maintained at the same temperature even in this state.

  The output of the heater 29 when the instruction value Th and the instruction value Tc cannot be maintained at the same temperature even when the current flowing through the thermo module 10 or the like is increased is set as the maximum heat absorption amount of the thermo module 10 or the like. Compared. That is, in the thermo module 10 etc., since the amount of power generation increases as the amount of heat passing through the thermo module 10 etc. increases, it can be determined that the greater the amount of heat absorbed from the heat source such as the thermo module 10, the more efficient the thermo module. .

  As a result of measuring the performance of the thermo module, the thermo module 10 had a maximum temperature difference of 93 K and a maximum heat absorption of 37 W. Moreover, the performance of the thermomodule according to the comparative example was such that the maximum temperature difference was 90K and the maximum heat absorption amount was 40W. From this result, it can be seen that the thermo module 10 has the same performance as the thermo module according to the comparative example. In addition, the thermo module 10 is extremely easy to form the lower electrode 13 and the upper electrode 14 as compared with the thermo module of the comparative example, and the manufacturing process can be reduced, the cost can be reduced, and the manufacturing period can be shortened. It has the advantage of being able to plan.

  As described above, in the thermomodule 10 according to the present embodiment, the lower electrode 13 and the upper electrode 14 are set to such a size that only one thermoelectric element 15 can be joined to each other, and predetermined lower electrodes 13 are connected to the lower connection portion. 17 and various upper electrode parts 14 are connected to each other by an upper connection part 18 so that various electrode patterns can be formed. For this reason, various electrode patterns can be easily formed, and the number of manufacturing steps can be reduced to reduce costs and shorten the manufacturing period.

  In addition, Au—Sn solder is used as a conductive bonding material constituting the lower connecting portion 17 that connects the predetermined lower electrodes 13 and the upper connecting portion 18 that connects the predetermined upper electrodes 14, and the lower electrode 13 and the upper electrode are used. As a bonding material for bonding 14 to the thermoelectric element 15, Sn—Sb solder having a melting point lower than that of Au—Sn solder is used. Therefore, even if the lower electrode 13 and the upper electrode 14 are joined to the thermoelectric element 15 after the lower connection portion 17 and the upper connection portion 18 are formed, the lower connection portion 17 and the upper connection portion 18 are affected by heat. Nothing will happen.

(Second Embodiment)
Further, as the second embodiment of the present invention, silver solder was used in place of Au—Sn solder as the conductive bonding material constituting the lower connecting portion 17 and the upper connecting portion 18. In this case, the silver solder foil is placed between the predetermined lower electrodes 13 and the upper electrodes 14 and heated to 800 ° C. in a nitrogen atmosphere to form the lower connecting portions 17 and the upper connecting portions 18 to form the predetermined lower electrodes. 13 and the upper electrode 14 were connected. The portions other than the conductive bonding material constituting the lower connecting portion 17 and the upper connecting portion 18 were the same as those of the thermo module 10 described above to manufacture the thermo module.

  Moreover, as a result of performing the performance measurement of the thermo module mentioned above with respect to this thermo module, as for the performance of this thermo module, the maximum temperature difference was 94K and the maximum heat absorption amount was 36W. From this result, it can be seen that the thermo module according to the second embodiment has the same performance as the thermo module according to the comparative example. Further, according to this thermo module, since the melting points of the lower connecting portion 17 and the upper connecting portion 18 are further higher than when Au-Sn solder is used, after the lower connecting portion 17 and the upper connecting portion 18 are formed, Options for the bonding material used for bonding the lower electrode 13 and the upper electrode 14 to the thermoelectric element 15 are greatly expanded. The other effects of the thermo module according to the second embodiment are the same as those of the thermo module 10 described above.

(Third embodiment)
In the third embodiment of the present invention, Au—Sn solder and a copper cross-linked block are used as the conductive bonding material constituting the lower connecting portion 17 and the upper connecting portion 18. FIG. 12 shows a lower connecting portion made of Au—Sn solder and a copper bridging block and a connecting portion 31 as an upper connecting portion provided in the thermo module according to the third embodiment of the present invention. The connecting portion 31 connects the lower electrode and the electrode 32 as the upper electrode, and is formed by installing a bridging block between the electrodes 32 and fixing the electrode 32 and the bridging block with Au—Sn solder. Has been. Moreover, the part shown with the continuous line in the connection part 31 of FIG. 12 has shown the part of the Au-Sn solder which solidified after fuse | melting, and the part 31a shown with the broken line has shown the bridge | crosslinking block.

  As the crosslinking block in this case, a copper crosslinking block having a width and length of 1 mm and a thickness of 0.2 mm was used. Then, the thermo module was manufactured with the same configuration as that of the thermo module 10 described above except for the conductive bonding material constituting the connecting portion 31. Moreover, as a result of performing the performance measurement of the thermo module mentioned above with respect to this thermo module, as for the performance of this thermo module, the maximum temperature difference was 95K and the maximum heat absorption amount was 39W. From this result, it can be seen that the thermo module according to the third embodiment has the same performance as the thermo module according to the comparative example. Moreover, according to this thermomodule, the connection between the electrodes 32 is ensured and the electrical resistance is lowered. Other functions and effects of the thermo module according to the third embodiment are the same as those of the thermo module 10 described above.

(Fourth embodiment)
FIG. 13 shows a connection part 34 for connecting the electrode 33 as the lower electrode and the upper electrode and the two adjacent electrodes 33 provided in the thermomodule according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. The electrode 33 is formed in a stepped shape in which the central portion of each portion in the front-rear direction and the left-right direction protrudes from both side portions, and the shortest distance between the adjacent electrodes 33 is reduced. In this case, the distance between the electrodes 33 is set to 0.5 mm. For this reason, the amount of the conductive bonding material constituting the connection portion 34 can be reduced. The connecting portion 34 is made of Au—Sn solder. A portion other than the electrode 33 was manufactured in the same manner as the above-described thermomodule 10 to manufacture a thermomodule.

  Moreover, as a result of performing the performance measurement of the thermo module mentioned above with respect to this thermo module, as for the performance of this thermo module, the maximum temperature difference was 93K and the maximum heat absorption amount was 37W. From this result, it can be seen that the thermo module according to the fourth embodiment has the same performance as the thermo module according to the comparative example. Further, according to this thermo module, the distance between the electrodes 33 is shortened, the amount of Au—Sn solder, which is a conductive bonding material, can be reduced, and the connection between the electrodes 33 can be made more reliable. Other functions and effects of the thermo module according to the fourth embodiment are the same as those of the thermo module 10 described above.

  Further, the thermomodule substrate, the thermomodule, and the manufacturing method of the thermomodule according to the present invention are not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be implemented with appropriate modifications. For example, in each of the above-described embodiments, the electrodes such as the lower electrode 13 and the upper electrode 14 are configured by metal pattern plating formed using a photolithography technique, but the electrodes such as the lower electrode 13 and the upper electrode 14 are formed. The formation of is not limited to photography technology, and can also be performed by ceramic metallization in which a metal material is screen-printed and then fired, a method of brazing a metal foil, or the like.

  In the third embodiment described above, a copper cross-linking block is used as the cross-linking block constituting the conductive bonding material. As the cross-linking block, metals such as nickel and iron and alloys thereof are used. You can also. In short, any material can be used as long as it has conductivity and can connect the electrode portions. Further, in the above-described fourth embodiment, the electrode 33 is formed in a stepped shape in which the central side portion in each portion in the front-rear direction and the left-right direction protrudes from both side portions. Can be in various shapes such as diamond, circle, ellipse and the like. In short, it is sufficient that the same-shaped electrodes for joining only one thermoelectric element are regularly arranged. In addition, the material, shape arrangement, and the like of the insulating substrate and the thermoelectric element used in each of the above-described embodiments are not limited to each of the above-described embodiments, and can be appropriately changed.

It is the perspective view which showed the thermomodule which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 2 is a side view of the thermo module shown in FIG. 1. It is the top view which showed the state which attached the lower electrode and the thermoelectric element to the lower board | substrate of the thermomodule shown in FIG. It is the top view which showed the state which attached the upper electrode and the thermoelectric element to the upper board | substrate of the thermomodule shown in FIG. It is the top view which showed the board | substrate for thermomodules. It is the top view which showed the state which connected between the predetermined | prescribed lower electrodes of the lower board | substrate for thermomodules by the lower connection part. It is the bottom view which showed the state which connected between the predetermined upper electrodes of the upper board | substrate for thermomodules by the upper connection part. FIG. 7 is a plan view showing a conventional lower substrate for a thermo module having the same function as the lower substrate for a thermo module shown in FIG. 6. FIG. 8 is a bottom view showing a conventional thermo module upper substrate having the same function as the thermo module upper substrate shown in FIG. 7. It is the schematic front view which showed the apparatus for measuring the maximum temperature difference among the performances of a thermomodule. It is the schematic front view which showed the apparatus for measuring the maximum heat absorption among the performances of a thermomodule. It is explanatory drawing which showed the state which connected between electrodes by the connection part which the thermomodule which concerns on 3rd Embodiment of this invention is equipped with the solder and bridge | crosslinking block. It is explanatory drawing which showed the state which connected between electrodes by the connection part with which the thermomodule which concerns on 4th Embodiment of this invention is provided.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Thermo module, 11a ... Lower substrate for thermo module, 11 ... Lower substrate, 12 ... Upper substrate, 12a ... Upper substrate for thermo module, 13 ... Lower electrode, 14 ... Upper electrode, 15 ... Thermoelectric element, 17 ... Lower connection Part, 18 ... upper connection part, 31, 34 ... connection part, 32, 33 ... electrode.

Claims (3)

A thermo module configured by forming a plurality of electrodes on opposite surfaces of a pair of insulating substrates arranged to face each other at predetermined intervals, and joining end surfaces of thermoelectric elements to the opposed electrodes,
Sets the size of each electrode formed on the surface of the pair of insulating plates sized to joining only one of the end faces of the thermoelectric elements, arranged keeping a predetermined interval a plurality of electrodes on the left and right front and rear and, by connecting between predetermined neighboring electrodes that of the respective front Symbol plurality of electrodes formed on a surface of the pair of insulating substrates with a conductive bonding material made of solder or silver brazing, the plurality A thermo module, wherein the electrode and the plurality of thermoelectric elements are electrically connected. Thermo-module of claim 1 wherein the conductive bonding material, which contains the cross-linking blocks. Manufacture of a thermo module in which a plurality of electrodes are formed on both opposing surfaces of a pair of insulating substrates arranged facing each other at predetermined intervals, and a thermo module is manufactured by fixing end faces of thermoelectric elements to the opposing electrodes, respectively. A method,
Forming a thermomodule substrate on the surface of the insulating substrate, forming electrodes having a size capable of bonding only one end face of the thermoelectric element at the front, rear, left, and right;
An interelectrode connection step of connecting predetermined adjacent electrodes in the thermomodule substrate formed in the thermomodule substrate formation step with a conductive bonding material made of solder or silver solder ;
We are opposed to the substrate for thermoelectric modules in which a predetermined neighboring electrodeposition machining gap is connected in the inter-electrode connecting step to pair prepared, respectively connecting the end faces of the thermoelectric element to the electrodes of opposing the pair of the thermo-module A thermomodule manufacturing method comprising a thermoelectric element joining step.

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