Thermoelectric conversion element and thermoelectric conversion module

• Main Authors: MIHARA TOSHIYUKI, MIKAMI MASASHI, FUNAHASHI RYOJI, BABA SOU, AKEDO JUN
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 19.01.2010
• Subjects: ARTIFICIAL STONE; CEMENTS; CERAMICS; CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF GLASSES, GLAZES, OR VITREOUSENAMELS; CHEMICAL SURFACE TREATMENT; CHEMISTRY; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY ION IMPLANTATIONOR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY IONIMPLANTATION OR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL; COATING MATERIAL WITH METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING METALLIC MATERIAL; COMPOSITIONS THEREOF, e.g. MORTARS, CONCRETE OR LIKE BUILDINGMATERIALS; CONCRETE; CONVERSION OR DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRIC POWER; DIFFUSION TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL; ELECTRIC MACHINES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; ELECTRICITY; GENERATION; GLASS; INHIBITING CORROSION OF METALLIC MATERIAL OR INCRUSTATION INGENERAL; JOINING GLASS TO GLASS OR OTHER MATERIALS; LIME, MAGNESIA; METALLURGY; MINERAL OR SLAG WOOL; REFRACTORIES; SLAG; SURFACE TREATMENT OF FIBRES OR FILAMENTS MADE FROM GLASS,MINERALS OR SLAGS; SURFACE TREATMENT OF GLASS; SURFACE TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL BY DIFFUSION INTO THESURFACE, BY CHEMICAL CONVERSION OR SUBSTITUTION; TREATMENT OF NATURAL STONE

The present invention provides a thermoelectric element in which a thin film of p-type thermoelectric material and a thin film of n-type thermoelectric material, which are formed on an electrically insulating substrate, are electrically connected, in which the p-type thermoelectric material and the n-type thermoelectric material are selected from specific complex oxides with a positive Seebeck coefficient and specific complex oxides with a negative Seebeck coefficient, respectively. The present invention also provides a thermoelectric module using the thermoelectric element(s) and a thermoelectric conversion method. In the thermoelectric element of the present invention, since a p-type thermoelectric material and an n-type thermoelectric material are formed into a thin film on an electrically insulating substrate, the thermoelectric element of the invention can be formed on substrates having various shapes, thereby providing thermoelectric elements having various shapes.