Thermoelectric conversion structure and its use in heat dissipation device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9812629-B2
Application number	US-201313846211-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 18, 2013
Priority date	Jul 13, 2012
Publication date	Nov 7, 2017
Grant date	Nov 7, 2017

Abstract

The disclosure provides a thermoelectric conversion structure and its use in heat dissipation device. The thermoelectric conversion structure includes a thermoelectric element, a first electrode and an electrically conductive heat-blocking layer. The thermoelectric element includes a first end and a second end opposite to each other. The first electrode is located at the first end of the thermoelectric element. The electrically conductive heat-blocking layer is between the thermoelectric element and the first electrode.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A thermoelectric conversion structure, comprising:
a thermoelectric element which includes a first end and a second end opposite to each other;
a first electrode which is located at the first end of the thermoelectric element; and
an electrically conductive heat-blocking layer which is between the thermoelectric element and the first electrode and directly contacts the first end of the thermoelectric element, wherein the range of the thickness ratio of the thermoelectric element to the electrically conductive heat-blocking layer is 100 to 10000;
a second electrode, which is located at the second end of the thermoelectric element; and
an electrically conductive heat-dissipating layer, which is between the thermoelectric element and the second electrode and directly contacts the second end of the thermoelectric element,
wherein materials of the electrically conductive heat-blocking layer and the electrically conductive heat-dissipating layer respectively directly contacting the first end and the second end of the thermoelectric element are different, a thermal conductivity of the electrically conductive heat-dissipating layer is greater than 300 W/mK, and a thermal conductivity of the electrically conductive heat-blocking layer is less than 0.1 W/mK.

2. The thermoelectric conversion structure according to claim 1 , wherein the first end of the thermoelectric element is an endothermic end, and the second end of the thermoelectric element is an exothermic end.

3. The thermoelectric conversion structure according to claim 1 , wherein the electrically conductive heat-blocking layer comprises at least one first sublayer, which is formed of the material selected from a group consisting of oxides, metal oxides, nitrides, oxynitrides, metal nitride oxides, carbides, carbon oxides and combinations thereof.

4. The thermoelectric conversion structure according to claim 3 , wherein the total thickness of the first sublayer is less than 10 nm.

5. The thermoelectric conversion structure according to claim 3 , wherein the electrically conductive heat-blocking layer comprises a plurality of first sublayers, and wherein the materials of the least two of the plurality of first sublayers are different from each other.

6. The thermoelectric conversion structure according to claim 1 , wherein the electrically conductive heat-blocking layer comprises:
at least one first sublayer, which is formed of the material selected from a group consisting of oxides, metal oxides, nitrides, oxynitrides, metal nitride oxides, carbides, carbon oxides and combinations thereof; and
at least one second sublayer, which is formed of the material selected from a group consisting of metal silicides, metal nitrides, metal nitride silicides, metal carbides, metal carbon silicides, amorphous alloys and combinations thereof.

7. The thermoelectric conversion structure according to claim 6 , wherein the thickness of the first sublayer is less than 10 nm, and the thickness of the second sublayer is less than 100 nm.

8. The thermoelectric conversion structure according to claim 6 , wherein the electrically conductive heat-blocking layer comprises the plurality of first sublayers, and wherein the materials of the least two of the plurality of first sublayers are different from each other.

9. The thermoelectric conversion structure according to claim 6 , wherein the at least one first sublayer of the electrically conductive heat-blocking layer comprise oxides and the at least one second sublayer of the electrically conductive heat-blocking layer comprises nitrides.

10. The thermoelectric conversion structure according to claim 6 , wherein the at least one first sublayer of the electrically conductive heat-blocking layer comprises one first sublayer disposed on a first side of the at least one second sublayer and another first sublayer disposed on a second side of the at least one second sublayer, the second side being opposite the first side.

11. The thermoelectric conversion structure according to claim 10 , wherein the one first sublayer and another first sublayer comprise the same material.

12. The thermoelectric conversion structure according to claim 10 , wherein the one first sublayer and another first sublayer comprise different materials.

13. The thermoelectric conversion structure according to claim 10 , wherein the one first sublayer material is selected from a group comprising one of oxides, metal oxides, nitrides, oxynitrides, metals nitride oxides, carbides, and carbon oxides, and
wherein the another first sublayer material is selected from a group comprising another one of oxides, metal oxides, nitrides, oxynitrides, metals nitride oxides, carbides, and carbon oxides.

14. The thermoelectric conversion structure according to claim 10 , wherein a thickness of the one first sublayer is less than 10 nm, a thickness of the another one first sublayer is less than 10 nm, and a thickness of the second sublayer is less than 100 nm.

15. The thermoelectric conversion structure according to claim 1 , wherein the material of the first electrode is selected from a group consisting of platinum, gold, nickel, palladium, copper, aluminum, silver, titanium, tantalum, tungsten, molybdenum, chromium, cobalt, iron, zirconium, hafnium, vanadium, iridium, platinum alloys, gold alloys, nickel alloys, palladium alloys, copper alloys, aluminum alloys, silver alloys, titanium alloys, tantalum alloys, tungsten alloys, molybdenum alloys, chromium alloys, cobalt alloys, ferroalloys, zirconium alloys, hafnium alloys, vanadium alloys, iridium alloys and combinations thereof.

16. The thermoelectric conversion structure according to claim 1 , wherein the material of the electrically conductive heat-dissipating layer is selected from a group consisting of graphene, carbon nanotube, carbon nanowire and combinations thereof.

17. The thermoelectric conversion structure according to claim 1 , wherein the material of the second electrode is selected from a group consisting of platinum, gold, nickel, palladium, copper, aluminum, silver, titanium, tantalum, tungsten, molybdenum, chromium, cobalt, iron, zirconium, hafnium, vanadium, iridium, platinum alloys, gold alloys, nickel alloys, palladium alloys, copper alloys, aluminum alloys, silver alloys, titanium alloys, tantalum alloys, tungsten alloys, molybdenum alloys, chromium alloys, cobalt alloys, ferroalloys, zirconium alloys, hafnium alloys, vanadium alloys, iridium alloys and combinations thereof.

18. The thermoelectric conversion structure according to claim 1 , wherein a thickness of the electrically conductive heat-blocking layer is less than a phonon mean free path.

Assignees

• Ind Tech Res Inst

Inventors

• Hsu Hsiao-Hsuan
• Cheng Chun-Hu
• Chou Ya-Wen
• Lin Yu-Li

Classifications

• H01L35/08

  Electricity · mapped topic

• H01L35/30 Primary

  Electricity · mapped topic

• B82Y30/00

  Nanotechnology for materials or surface science, e.g. nanocomposites · CPC title

• Y10S977/734

  Fullerenes, i.e. graphene-based structures, such as nanohorns, nanococoons, nanoscrolls or fullerene-like structures, e.g. WS2 or MoS2 chalcogenide nanotubes, planar C3N4, etc. · CPC title

• Y10S977/762

  Nanowire or quantum wire, i.e. axially elongated structure having two dimensions of 100 nm or less · CPC title