KR20170119172A - Thermo electric element - Google Patents

Abstract

A thermoelectric device is disclosed. The thermoelectric element includes a first substrate, a plurality of P-type thermoelectric legs and a plurality of N-type thermoelectric legs alternately arranged on the first substrate, and a plurality of P-type thermoelectric legs and a plurality of N- Wherein the plurality of electrodes include a plurality of first electrodes disposed between the first substrate and the plurality of P-type thermoelectric legs and between the plurality of N-type thermoelectric legs, and the plurality of P- And a plurality of second electrodes disposed on opposite sides of the first electrode with respect to the plurality of N-type thermoelectric legs, wherein one P-type thermoelectric leg connected to the second electrode and one N- The legs form one pair of thermoelectric legs, and the gap between the pair of thermoelectric legs and the pair of thermoelectric legs adjacent to each other is periodically formed differently.

Description

[0001] THERMO ELECTRIC ELEMENT [0002]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a thermoelectric element, and more particularly, to a thermoelectric element capable of performance control.

Thermoelectric phenomenon is a phenomenon caused by the movement of electrons and holes inside a material, which means direct energy conversion between heat and electricity.

Thermoelectric elements are collectively referred to as elements that use thermoelectric phenomena. They are devices that use the temperature change of electrical resistance, devices that use electrostatic force due to temperature difference, devices that use the Seebeck effect, phenomena that heat is generated by heat or heat generation, And the like.

Thermoelectric elements are widely applied to electronic appliances, electronic components, and communication components, and the demand for thermoelectric performance of thermoelectric elements is increasing.

The thermoelectric element includes a substrate, an electrode, and a thermoelectric leg. The thermoelectric leg may be an important index that determines the performance of the thermoelectric element. When the thermoelectric element is a device using the Peltier effect, electrons in the holes of the P-type thermoelectric leg and the N-type thermoelectric leg move when externally applied, causing heat generation and endothermic.

At this time, the performance of the thermoelectric device varies depending on the number and the interval of the P-type thermoelectric leg and the N-type thermoelectric leg, and there is a problem that the cost for manufacturing a high-performance thermoelectric device is high.

On the other hand, as the necessity of development of a flexible device is gradually increased, the need for a flexible thermoelectric device is also increasing.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a thermoelectric device capable of controlling performance.

A thermoelectric device according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a first substrate, a plurality of P-type thermoelectric legs and a plurality of N-type thermoelectric legs alternately arranged on the first substrate, and a plurality of P- And a plurality of electrodes for connecting the N-type thermoelectric legs in series, wherein the plurality of electrodes are arranged between the first substrate, the plurality of P-type thermoelectric legs, and the plurality of first electrodes And a plurality of second electrodes disposed on opposite sides of the first electrode with respect to the plurality of P-type thermoelectric legs and the plurality of N-type thermoelectric legs, wherein one P- Legs and one N-type thermoelectric leg pair form one pair of thermoelectric legs, and a gap between the pair of thermoelectric legs and the pair of thermoelectric legs adjacent to each other is periodically formed differently.

An insulating film may be formed between the pair of thermoelectric legs.

The thickness of the insulating film may be thinner than the thickness of the P-type thermoelectric leg or the thickness of the N-type thermoelectric leg.

Performance can be adjusted according to the number of pairs of thermoelectric legs having the same interval between pairs of thermoelectric legs adjacent to each other.

The first substrate may extend between the P-type thermoelectric leg and the N-type thermoelectric leg included in one pair of thermoelectric legs.

Both ends of the first electrode may be bent in the direction of the P-type thermoelectric leg and the N-type thermoelectric leg connected to the first electrode.

Both ends of the second electrode may be bent in the direction of the P-type thermoelectric leg and the N-type thermoelectric leg connected to the second electrode.

A plurality of P-type thermoelectric legs and a plurality of N-type thermoelectric legs disposed alternately on the first substrate, a plurality of P-type thermoelectric legs, and a plurality of N-type thermoelectric legs, And a plurality of electrodes for serially connecting the plurality of P-type thermoelectric legs and the plurality of N-type thermoelectric legs, wherein the plurality of electrodes are formed by stacking the first substrate, the plurality of P-type thermoelectric legs, A plurality of first electrodes disposed between the N-type thermoelectric legs, a plurality of second electrodes disposed between the second substrate and the plurality of P-type thermoelectric legs and the plurality of N-type thermoelectric legs, A plurality of P-type thermoelectric legs, a plurality of P-type thermoelectric legs, a plurality of P-type thermoelectric legs, a plurality of P-type thermoelectric legs, and a plurality of N-type thermoelectric legs, , And the fourth It is one of the P-type thermoelectric legs is connected to the pole and one N-type thermoelectric legs form a thermoelectric leg pair and the distance between the thermoelectric leg pair and the adjacent thermoelectric leg pairs are formed differently on a periodic basis.

The plurality of pairs of P-type thermoelectric legs and the plurality of pairs of N-type thermoelectric legs may be periodically arranged.

A flexible layer may be formed between the plurality of pairs of P-type thermoelectric legs and the plurality of pairs of N-type thermoelectric legs.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, Vertical type thermoelectric elements can be produced by using a low-cost horizontal thermoelectric element manufacturing method.

Further, it is possible to provide a thermoelectric device having a high degree of integration by using an insulating film having a small thickness, and to control the performance of the thermoelectric device by adjusting the number and spacing of thermoelectric leg pairs.

In addition, thermal parallelism is blocked through the flexible substrate to improve the performance of the thermoelectric device, and at the same time, provide a flexible thermoelectric device.

1 is a cross-sectional view of a thermoelectric device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a perspective view of a thermoelectric device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a cross-sectional view of a thermoelectric device according to another embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a perspective view of a thermoelectric device according to another embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a flowchart illustrating a method of manufacturing a thermoelectric device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
6 to 9 are cross-sectional views sequentially showing a method of manufacturing a thermoelectric device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The present invention is capable of various modifications and various embodiments, and specific embodiments are illustrated and described in the drawings. It should be understood, however, that the invention is not intended to be limited to the particular embodiments, but includes all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention.

The terms including ordinal, such as second, first, etc., may be used to describe various elements, but the elements are not limited to these terms. The terms are used only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another. For example, without departing from the scope of the present invention, the second component may be referred to as a first component, and similarly, the first component may also be referred to as a second component. And / or < / RTI > includes any combination of a plurality of related listed items or any of a plurality of related listed items.

It is to be understood that when an element is referred to as being "connected" or "connected" to another element, it may be directly connected or connected to the other element, . On the other hand, when an element is referred to as being "directly connected" or "directly connected" to another element, it should be understood that there are no other elements in between.

The terminology used in this application is used only to describe a specific embodiment and is not intended to limit the invention. The singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. In the present application, the terms "comprises" or "having" and the like are used to specify that there is a feature, a number, a step, an operation, an element, a component or a combination thereof described in the specification, But do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, or combinations thereof.

Unless defined otherwise, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. Terms such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries are to be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with the contextual meaning of the related art and are to be interpreted as either ideal or overly formal in the sense of the present application Do not.

Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like or corresponding elements are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a thermoelectric device according to one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a thermoelectric device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

1 and 2, a thermoelectric element 100 includes a lower substrate 110, a lower electrode 120, a P-type thermoelectric leg 130, an N-type thermoelectric leg 140, an upper electrode 160, 170).

The lower electrode 120 is disposed between the lower substrate 110 and the lower bottom surface of the P-type thermoelectric leg 130 and the N-type thermoelectric leg 140, and the upper electrode 160 is disposed between the P-type thermoelectric leg 130 and the P- And may be disposed on the opposite side of the lower electrode 120 with respect to the N-type thermoelectric leg 140.

Accordingly, the plurality of P-type thermoelectric legs 130 and the plurality of N-type thermoelectric legs 140 are electrically connected by the lower electrode 120 and the upper electrode 160.

In general, the lower electrode 120 disposed between the lower substrate 110 and the P-type thermoelectric leg 130 and the N-type thermoelectric leg 140, and the P-type thermoelectric leg 130 and the N- 140 may be made of a metal such as copper (Cu).

For example, the lower electrode 120 and the upper electrode 160 may include electrode materials such as Cu, Ag, and Ni.

When a voltage is applied to the lower electrode 120 and the upper electrode 150 through the lead wires, the substrate through which the current flows from the P-type thermoelectric leg 130 to the N-type thermoelectric leg 140 due to the Peltier effect absorbs heat The substrate that acts as a cooling portion and the current flows from the N-type thermoelectric leg 140 to the P-type thermoelectric leg 130 can be heated to act as a heat generating portion.

1, the thermoelectric element 100 according to an embodiment has no upper substrate on the upper electrode 160, and thus may be directly attached to another heat source or the like. Thereby, more heat can be obtained from the heat source, and the performance of the thermoelectric device can be improved.

In addition, since there is no upper substrate, heat transfer reduction caused by the upper substrate can be prevented early. Further, the flexibility of the thermoelectric element is further increased, and the manufacturing cost can be lowered in manufacturing the thermoelectric element.

Here, the P-type thermoelectric leg 130 and the N-type thermoelectric leg 140 may be bismuth telluride (Bi-Te) thermoelectric legs containing bismuth (Bi) and tellurium (Ti) as main raw materials. The P-type thermoelectric leg 130 may be formed of one selected from the group consisting of antimony Sb, Ni, Al, Cu, Ag, Pb, B, Ga, (Bi-Te) thermoelectric leg comprising at least one of tin (Te), bismuth (Bi) and indium (In). The N-type thermoelectric leg 140 may be formed of at least one selected from the group consisting of Se, Ni, Al, Cu, Ag, Pb, B, Ga, (Bi-Te) thermoelectric leg comprising at least one of tin (Te), bismuth (Bi) and indium (In).

The P-type thermoelectric leg 130 and the N-type thermoelectric leg 140 may be formed in a bulk or laminated form. Generally, the bulk type P-type thermoelectric leg 130 or the bulk N-type thermoelectric leg 140 is manufactured by heat-treating the thermoelectric material to produce an ingot, crushing and sieving the ingot to obtain a thermoelectric leg powder, Sintered body, and cutting the sintered body. The laminated P-type thermoelectric leg 130 or the laminated N-type thermoelectric leg 140 is formed by applying a paste containing a thermoelectric material on a sheet-shaped substrate to form a unit member, then stacking and cutting the unit member Can be obtained.

The performance of the thermoelectric element 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention can be expressed by a Gebeck index. The whiteness index (ZT) can be expressed by Equation (1).

는 파워 인자(Power Factor, [W/mK2])이다. 그리고, T는 온도이고, k는 열전도도[W/mK]이다. k는 a·cp·ρ로 나타낼 수 있으며, a는 열확산도[cm2/S]이고, cp 는 비열[J/gK]이며, ρ는 밀도[g/cm3]이다.Where [alpha] is the Seebeck coefficient [V / K], [sigma] is the electrical conductivity [S / m]

Is the power factor ([W / mK2]). T is the temperature, and k is the thermal conductivity [W / mK]. k can be expressed as a · cp · ρ, where a is the thermal diffusivity [cm2 / S], cp is the specific heat [J / gK], and ρ is the density [g / cm3].

In order to obtain the whiteness index ZT of the thermoelectric element 100, the Z value (V / K) may be measured using a Z meter, and the Zebek index ZT may be calculated using the measured Z value.

1, one P-type thermoelectric leg 130 connected to the upper electrode 160 and one N-type thermoelectric leg 140 form one pair of thermoelectric legs 150, and the pair of thermoelectric legs 150 May exist in plural. In addition, the interval between the pairs of thermoelectrically-responsive legs 150 may be periodically different.

For example, as shown in FIG. 1, the thermoelectric element 100 may form a different gap for each of the five thermoelectric leg pairs 150. Thus, the performance of the thermoelectric element can be controlled by adjusting the number of the plurality of thermoelectric leg pairs 150 having a predetermined interval.

This is because as the number of adjacent pairs of thermoelectric legs 150 increases, the amount of cooling and electric power generated by PN junctions between P-type thermoelectric legs 130 and N-type thermoelectric legs 140 increases.

은 일정한 간격을 가지는 복수의 열전 레그 쌍 사이의 출력전압,

는 P형 열전 레그의 제벡계수,

는 N형 열전 레그의 제벡계수,

은 열전 레그 쌍의 계수,

는 고온부 온도,

는 저온부 온도를 나타낸다.here,

An output voltage between a plurality of pairs of thermoelectric legs having a predetermined interval,

Is a Seebeck coefficient of the P type thermoelectric leg,

Is the Seebeck coefficient of the N type thermoelectric leg,

The coefficient of the pair of thermoelectric legs,

Temperature,

Represents the low temperature part temperature.

)을 비례 제어할 수 있고, 최종적으로 성능이 조절된 열전 소자(100)를 제공할 수 있다.Referring to Equation (2), when the number of pairs of thermoelectric leg pairs 150 is adjusted, the voltage between the plurality of pairs of thermo leg pairs 150 having a predetermined gap

) Can be proportionally controlled, and the thermoelectric element 100 whose performance is finally controlled can be provided.

The insulating film 170 may be formed to surround the thermoelectric element 100 between the pair of thermoelectric leg pairs 150. The insulating layer 170 may include an insulating material such as resin to prevent an electrical short between the P-type thermoelectric leg 130 and the N-type thermoelectric leg 140 disposed between the pair of thermoelectric legs 150.

The thickness d2 of the P-type thermoelectric leg 130 and the thickness d3 of the N-type thermoelectric leg 140 may be in the range of 100 to 500 mu m Lt; / RTI > The P-type thermoelectric leg 130 and the N-type thermoelectric leg 140 may have different thicknesses depending on the performance of the thermoelectric element 100.

The thickness of the lower electrode 120 and the upper electrode 160 may be 0.5 탆 to 3 탆 and the thickness d 1 of the insulating film 170 may be 10 탆 or less.

Thus, the insulating film 170 having a small thickness is disposed between the pair of thermoelectric legs, and the degree of integration of the thermoelectric elements is effectively increased.

The lower substrate 110 may extend between the P-type thermoelectric leg 130 and the N-type thermoelectric leg 140 of the pair of thermoelectric legs 150.

In addition, the lower substrate 110 may include a flexible material, such as a polyimide-based polymer, and may have flexibility. In addition, the lower substrate 110 may include a flexible material having a low heat transfer rate to prevent thermal parallelism in the thermoelectric element 100, thereby improving the performance of the thermoelectric element 100.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a thermoelectric device according to another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a thermoelectric device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

The thermoelectric element 200 includes a lower substrate 210, a lower electrode 220, a set of thermoelectric legs 230, an upper electrode 240, and an upper substrate 250.

The material and function of the lower substrate 210, the lower electrode 220, and the upper electrode 240 may be the same as those described above. In addition, the upper substrate 250 and the lower substrate 210 may have the same materials and functions.

The thermoelectric leg assemblies 230 include a predetermined number of thermoelectric leg pairs 233.

Here, the pair of thermoelectric legs 233 are the same as those described in FIG. 1, in which one P-type thermoelectric material 231 and one N-type thermoelectric material 232 are electrically connected to the upper leg electrode 235.

A lower leg electrode 234 may be disposed between the lower electrode 220 and the thermoelectric leg aggregate 230 and an upper leg electrode 235 may be disposed between the upper electrode 240 and the thermoelectric leg aggregate 230 .

In this way, a plurality of thermoelectric leg sets 230 alternately arranged through a plurality of electrodes can be electrically connected in series.

Also, the number of the thermoelectric leg pairs 233 arranged periodically can be adjusted to control the performance of the thermoelectric leg aggregate 230, and ultimately the performance of the thermoelectric elements can be controlled.

The insulating film 236 may be formed between the pair of thermoelectric legs 233 and the pair of thermoelectric legs 233 adjacent to each other.

An insulating layer 236 may be formed between the lower electrode 220 and the lower leg electrode 234 or between the upper electrode 240 and the upper leg electrode 235. The insulating film 236 may include an insulating material such as resin as described with reference to FIG. 1, and it is possible to prevent an electrical short between adjacent electrodes.

The flexible layer 239 may be formed at the edges of the P-type thermoelectric leg 231 and the N-type thermoelectric leg 232 or the thermoelectric leg aggregate 230 connected to the pair of thermoelectric legs 233.

The flexible layer 239 may include a flexible material that is a polymer of a polyimide series. In addition, the flexible layer 239 may include a flexible material having a low heat transfer rate to block thermal parallelism of the thermoelectric element 200, and the performance of the thermoelectric element 200 may be improved.

The lower connection electrode 237 may be disposed for electrical connection between the lower leg electrode 234 and the lower electrode 220.

Similarly, an upper connecting electrode 238 may be disposed between the upper leg electrode 235 and the upper electrode 240.

3 and 4, the lower connection electrode 237 is connected to the pair of thermoelectric legs 233 disposed at the edge, and the upper connection electrode 238 is connected to the lower connection electrode 233, Is connected to a pair of thermoelectric legs opposite to thermoelectric leg pair 238 connected to thermoelectric couple 237.

The lower connection electrode 237 and the upper connection electrode 238 may be disposed at various positions according to the performance of the thermoelectric device.

The materials and functions of the P-type thermoelectric leg 231 and the N-type thermoelectric leg 232 are the same as those described in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a method of manufacturing a thermoelectric device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 6 to 9 are cross-sectional views sequentially illustrating a method of manufacturing a thermoelectric device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

5 to 9, an electrode may be bonded onto a substrate (S310). The material of the substrate 410 and the electrode 420 may be the same as that of the lower substrate and the lower electrode.

As shown in FIG. 6, the electrodes 420 on the substrate 410 may be periodically placed at different thicknesses.

Next, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the substrate 410 may be deposited on the substrate 410 so that the P-type thermoelectric legs 430 and the N-type thermoelectric legs 440 are alternately arranged between the plurality of electrodes (S320).

Also, any one of the P-type thermoelectric legs 430 and the N-type thermoelectric legs 440 may be disposed between the plurality of electrodes 420. The order of deposition of the P-type thermoelectric leg 430 and the N-type thermoelectric leg 440 on the substrate 420 may vary depending on the case.

Next, the insulating film 450 may be coated on the substrate 420, the P-type thermoelectric legs 430, and the N-type thermoelectric legs 440 (S330). The insulating layer 450 may include an insulating material such as resin.

Then, as shown in FIG. 9, the thermoelectrons may be cut in the horizontal direction C and the electrodes may be folded in the vertical direction L to form adjacent thermoelectric legs as shown in FIG. 1 or 3 (S340).

1 and 3, the electrode connected to one of the P-type thermoelectric legs 130 and 231 and the N-type thermoelectric legs 140 and 232 is composed of the P-type thermoelectric legs 130 and 231 connected to the electrodes, And may be curved in the direction in which the thermoelectric legs 140 and 232 are present.

6 to 9, the substrate 420 and the thermoelectric legs 430 and 440 (not shown) are formed by using a method of manufacturing an in-plane thermoelectric element in which the substrate 420 and the thermoelectric legs 430 and 440 are horizontal ) Vertical cross-plane thermoelectric elements can be manufactured.

Thus, the manufacturing cost can be reduced by using the manufacturing method of the horizontal type thermoelectric element at low cost, and the performance of the thermoelectric element can be controlled by adjusting the number of overlapping of the thermoelectric legs.

In addition, there is an effect that the thickness of the thermoelectric element is thinned and the degree of integration of the thermoelectric element is improved.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention as defined by the following claims It can be understood that

100, 200: thermoelectric element
110, 210: Lower substrate
120, 220: Lower electrode
130, 231: P type thermoelectrode
140, 232: N-type thermoelectrode
150, 233: pair of thermoelectric legs
160, 240: upper electrode
170, 236: insulating film
230: thermoelectric leg set
234: Lower leg electrode
235: upper leg electrode
237: Lower connecting electrode
238: upper connecting electrode
239: Flexible layer
250: upper substrate

Claims (10)

The first substrate,
A plurality of P-type thermoelectric legs and a plurality of N-type thermoelectric legs alternately arranged on the first substrate, and
And a plurality of electrodes serially connecting the plurality of P-type thermoelectric legs and the plurality of N-type thermoelectric legs,
Wherein the plurality of electrodes comprise:
A plurality of first electrodes disposed between the first substrate and the plurality of P-type thermoelectric legs and between the plurality of N-type thermoelectric legs, and
And a plurality of second electrodes disposed on opposite sides of the first electrode with respect to the plurality of P-type thermoelectric legs and the plurality of N-type thermoelectric legs,
Wherein one P-type thermoelectric leg and one N-type thermoelectric leg connected to the second electrode form one pair of thermoelectric legs, and the pair of thermoelectric legs and the pair of thermoelectric legs adjacent to each other are periodically different from each other. The method according to claim 1,
And an insulating film is formed between the pair of thermoelectric legs. 3. The method of claim 2,
Wherein the thickness of the insulating film is thinner than the thickness of the P-type thermoelectric leg or the thickness of the N-type thermoelectric leg. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the performance is controlled according to the number of pairs of thermoelectric legs having the same interval between pairs of thermoelectric legs adjacent to each other. The method according to claim 1,
And the first substrate is extended between the P-type thermoelectric leg and the N-type thermoelectric leg included in one pair of thermoelectric legs. The method according to claim 1,
And both ends of the first electrode are bent in the direction of the P-type thermoelectric leg and the N-type thermoelectric leg connected to the first electrode. The method according to claim 1,
And both ends of the second electrode are bent in the direction of the P-type thermoelectric leg and the N-type thermoelectric leg connected to the second electrode. The first substrate,
A plurality of P-type thermoelectric legs and a plurality of N-type thermoelectric legs alternately arranged on the first substrate,
A second substrate disposed on the plurality of P-type thermoelectric legs and the plurality of N-type thermoelectric legs, and
And a plurality of electrodes serially connecting the plurality of P-type thermoelectric legs and the plurality of N-type thermoelectric legs,
Wherein the plurality of electrodes comprise:
A plurality of first electrodes disposed between the first substrate and the plurality of P-type thermoelectric legs and between the plurality of N-type thermoelectric legs,
A plurality of second electrodes disposed between the second substrate and the plurality of P-type thermoelectric legs and between the plurality of N-type thermoelectric legs,
A third electrode disposed between the first electrode, the plurality of P-type thermoelectric legs and the plurality of N-type thermoelectric legs, and
And a fourth electrode disposed between the second electrode and the plurality of P-type thermoelectric legs and between the plurality of N-type thermoelectric legs,
And one P-type thermoelectric leg connected to the fourth electrode and one N-type thermoelectric leg form one pair of thermoelectric legs, and the pair of thermoelectric legs and the pair of thermoelectric legs adjacent to each other are periodically different from each other. 9. The method of claim 8,
Wherein the plurality of pairs of P-type thermoelectric legs and the plurality of pairs of N-type thermoelectric legs are periodically arranged. 9. The method of claim 8,
And a flexible layer is formed between the plurality of pairs of P-type thermoelectric legs and the plurality of pairs of N-type thermoelectric legs.

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