阅读说明：本技术 热电元件 (Thermoelectric element ) 是由 朴赞永 于 2016-04-29 设计创作，主要内容包括：提供了一种热电元件,其包括：电极；导电层,其设置在所述电极上；以及半导体结构,其设置在所述导电层上,其中,所述导电层包括与所述半导体结构接触的顶表面,其中,所述半导体结构的厚度为1mm至1.5mm,其中,所述电极的厚度为0.01mm至0.03mm,以及其中,所述导电层的顶表面包括浮雕图案。(Provided is a thermoelectric element, including: an electrode; a conductive layer disposed on the electrode; and a semiconductor structure disposed on the conductive layer, wherein the conductive layer includes a top surface in contact with the semiconductor structure, wherein the semiconductor structure has a thickness of 1mm to 1.5mm, wherein the electrode has a thickness of 0.01mm to 0.03mm, and wherein the top surface of the conductive layer includes a relief pattern.)

1. A thermoelectric element, comprising:

an electrode;

a conductive layer disposed on the electrode; and

a semiconductor structure disposed on the conductive layer,

wherein the conductive layer includes a top surface in contact with the semiconductor structure,

wherein the thickness of the semiconductor structure is 1mm to 1.5mm,

wherein the thickness of the electrode is 0.01mm to 0.03mm, and

wherein a top surface of the conductive layer comprises a relief pattern.

2. The thermoelectric element according to claim 1,

wherein the semiconductor structure includes a bottom surface in contact with the conductive layer, an

Wherein the bottom surface comprises a relief pattern.

3. A thermoelectric element in accordance with claim 2,

wherein the relief pattern of the bottom surface of the semiconductor structure and the relief pattern of the top surface of the conductive layer correspond to each other.

4. A thermoelectric element in accordance with claim 3,

wherein the conductive layer includes at least one of Ni, Cu, and Ag.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein,

wherein the semiconductor structure comprises Bi and Te.

6. The thermoelectric element of claim 4, further comprising:

an upper conductive layer disposed on the semiconductor structure,

wherein the upper conductive layer includes a bottom surface in contact with an upper surface of the semiconductor structure, an

Wherein a bottom surface of the upper conductive layer includes a relief pattern.

7. The thermoelectric element according to claim 6,

wherein an upper surface of the semiconductor structure includes a relief pattern.

8. The thermoelectric element according to claim 7,

wherein the relief pattern of the upper surface of the semiconductor structure corresponds to the relief pattern of the bottom surface of the upper conductive layer.

9. The thermoelectric element according to claim 8,

wherein the upper conductive layer includes at least one of Ni, Cu, and Ag.

10. The thermoelectric element according to claim 8,

wherein the relief pattern of the bottom surface of the upper conductive layer vertically overlaps the relief pattern of the top surface of the conductive layer.

11. The thermoelectric element as set forth in claim 10,

wherein the relief pattern of the bottom surface of the upper conductive layer, the relief pattern of the upper surface of the semiconductor structure, the relief pattern of the bottom surface of the semiconductor structure, and the relief pattern of the top surface of the conductive layer vertically overlap.

12. The thermoelectric element according to claim 8,

wherein the electrode comprises at least one of Cu, Ag and Ni.

13. The thermoelectric element of claim 12, further comprising:

an upper substrate disposed on an upper surface of the electrode; and a lower substrate disposed on a lower surface of the electrode,

wherein the upper substrate and the lower substrate include an insulating substrate.

14. A thermoelectric element, comprising:

a substrate;

an electrode disposed on the substrate; and

a semiconductor device disposed on the electrode,

wherein the semiconductor device includes: a conductive layer comprising nickel, and a semiconductor structure disposed on the conductive layer,

wherein the semiconductor structure has a thickness of 1.5mm or less,

wherein the thickness of the electrode is 10 μm to 20 μm,

wherein the semiconductor structure includes an interface in contact with a conductive layer including nickel,

wherein the interface comprises a relief pattern,

wherein the relief pattern at the interface vertically overlaps the electrode and the substrate.

15. The thermoelectric element of claim 14, further comprising:

an upper conductive layer disposed on the semiconductor structure and comprising nickel,

wherein the semiconductor structure further comprises an upper interface in contact with the upper conductive layer.

16. The thermoelectric element as set forth in claim 15,

wherein the upper interface comprises a relief pattern,

wherein the relief pattern of the interface vertically overlaps the relief pattern of the upper interface.

17. The thermoelectric element of claim 15, further comprising:

an upper substrate disposed on the upper conductive layer,

wherein the substrate and the upper substrate include an insulating material,

wherein a horizontal width of the substrate and a horizontal width of the upper substrate are different from each other.

18. The thermoelectric element as set forth in claim 14,

wherein the electrode comprises Cu,

wherein the semiconductor structure has a thickness of 1mm or more, and the semiconductor structure includes Te.

19. A thermoelectric element, comprising:

a first substrate;

a first electrode disposed on the first substrate;

a semiconductor structure disposed on the first electrode;

a second electrode disposed on the semiconductor structure;

a second substrate disposed on the second electrode;

a first conductive layer disposed between the semiconductor structure and the first electrode; and

a second conductive layer disposed between the semiconductor structure and the second electrode,

wherein the semiconductor structure comprises a first interface in contact with the first conductive layer and a second interface in contact with the second conductive layer,

wherein each of the first interface and the second interface comprises a relief pattern,

wherein the semiconductor structure has a thickness of 1.5mm or less,

wherein the first electrode has a thickness of 10 to 20 μm,

wherein the relief pattern of the first interface vertically overlaps the first electrode, the second interface, the first substrate, and the second substrate.

20. The thermoelectric element as set forth in claim 19,

wherein the first substrate includes: an upper surface on which the first electrode is disposed, a bottom surface facing the upper surface, and a side surface disposed between the upper surface and the bottom surface,

wherein the first substrate further comprises: a plurality of through holes penetrating an upper surface of the first substrate and a bottom surface of the first substrate, and a plurality of grooves on a side surface of the first substrate adjacent to the plurality of through holes,

wherein a wire electrically connected to the first electrode through the plurality of through holes is drawn out to the outside of the first substrate.

Technical Field

Embodiments of the present invention relate to a thermoelectric module and a thermal converter including the same.

Background

Generally, a thermoelectric device including a thermal converter has a structure in which a PN junction pair is formed by connecting a P-type thermoelectric material and an N-type thermoelectric material between metal electrodes. When a temperature difference is generated between the PN junction pair, electric power is generated by the seebeck effect (Seeback effect) and the thermoelectric device can function as a generator. Further, the thermoelectric device may be used as a temperature controller by a Peltier effect (Peltier effect) in which one side of the PN junction pair is cooled and the other side is heated.

The thermoelectric device may be applied to a device for cooling or heating or an apparatus for generating electricity, and various thermoelectric effects may be achieved. Accordingly, methods that can improve the efficiency of thermoelectric devices have received attention.

In particular, since the thermoelectric device is disposed between a pair of substrates disposed opposite to each other, there is a spatial limitation. Therefore, a method of improving the efficiency of the thermoelectric module by enlarging the area in which the thermoelectric devices are arranged is required.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention is directed to providing a thermoelectric module having high efficiency.

As a means for solving the above-described problems, a thermoelectric module according to an embodiment includes: a first substrate including a plurality of first electrodes; a second substrate disposed opposite to the first substrate and including a plurality of second electrodes; a plurality of thermoelectric devices disposed between the first substrate and the second substrate and electrically connected to the first electrode and the second electrode; and a wire connection hole configured to penetrate at least one of the first substrate and the second substrate and expose a portion of one surface of at least one of the first electrode and the second electrode.

The line connection hole may include a pair of line connection holes respectively exposing the different electrodes.

The different electrodes may be connected to different types of thermoelectric devices, respectively.

One of the pair of line connection holes may expose an electrode connected to the P-type thermoelectric device, and the other of the pair of line connection holes may expose an electrode connected to the N-type thermoelectric device.

The thermoelectric module may further include a guide groove formed on one surface of the substrate on which the wire connection hole is formed.

The guide groove may be formed from the wire connection hole to a side surface of the substrate.

The guide groove may be formed to be bent from the wire connection hole to a side surface of the substrate.

The width of the guide groove may be smaller than the diameter of the wire connecting hole.

More than two guide grooves may be formed from one wire connecting hole.

The plurality of thermoelectric devices may include P-type thermoelectric devices and N-type thermoelectric devices.

The thermoelectric module may further include a wire connected to one surface exposed through the wire connection hole and drawn out to the outside through the wire connection hole.

Both the P-type thermoelectric device and the N-type thermoelectric device may be disposed on each electrode exposed through the wire connection hole.

An insulating layer may be formed on an inner wall of the wire connection hole.

A thermal converter according to an embodiment includes a thermoelectric module.

According to an embodiment, there is provided a thermoelectric element including: an electrode; a conductive layer disposed on the electrode; and a semiconductor structure disposed on the conductive layer, wherein the conductive layer includes a top surface in contact with the semiconductor structure, wherein the semiconductor structure has a thickness of 1mm to 1.5mm, wherein the electrode has a thickness of 0.01mm to 0.03mm, and wherein the top surface of the conductive layer includes a relief pattern.

According to an embodiment, there is also provided a thermoelectric element including: a substrate; an electrode disposed on the substrate; and a semiconductor device provided on the electrode, wherein the semiconductor device includes: a conductive layer comprising nickel, and a semiconductor structure disposed on the conductive layer, wherein the semiconductor structure has a thickness of 1.5mm or less, wherein the electrode has a thickness of 10 μm to 20 μm, wherein the semiconductor structure comprises an interface in contact with the conductive layer comprising nickel, wherein the interface comprises a relief pattern, wherein the relief pattern at the interface vertically overlaps the electrode and the substrate.

According to an embodiment, there is also provided a thermoelectric element including: a first substrate; a first electrode disposed on the first substrate; a semiconductor structure disposed on the first electrode; a second electrode disposed on the semiconductor structure; a second substrate disposed on the second electrode; a first conductive layer disposed between the semiconductor structure and the first electrode; and a second conductive layer disposed between the semiconductor structure and the second electrode, wherein the semiconductor structure includes a first interface in contact with the first conductive layer and a second interface in contact with the second conductive layer, wherein each of the first interface and the second interface includes a relief pattern, wherein a thickness of the semiconductor structure is 1.5mm or less, wherein a thickness of the first electrode is 10 μm to 20 μm, wherein the relief pattern of the first interface vertically overlaps the first electrode, the second interface, the first substrate, and the second substrate.

Drawings

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent to those skilled in the art by describing in detail exemplary embodiments thereof with reference to the attached drawings, in which:

fig. 1 and 2 are a conceptual diagram and a comparative conceptual diagram showing essential parts of a thermoelectric module according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3A is a conceptual perspective view illustrating a structure in which the wire connection hole shown in FIG. 1 is implemented and a thermoelectric device is disposed in the wire connection hole to enhance utilization;

FIG. 3B is a conceptual top view of FIG. 3A;

fig. 4 is a conceptual diagram of the structure of the essential part of the thermoelectric module according to the embodiment of the invention;

fig. 5 to 7 are conceptual diagrams illustrating modifications of the thermoelectric module according to the embodiment of the present invention; and

fig. 8 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a different structure of a thermoelectric module according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, the structure and operation of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the description with reference to the drawings, like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout the description of the drawings, and the description of the like elements will not be repeated. Although the terms "first," "second," etc. may be used to describe various elements, these elements are not limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another.

Fig. 1 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a structure of a thermoelectric module according to an embodiment of the present invention, and fig. 2 is a comparative conceptual diagram for illustrating a difference in structure from the thermoelectric module according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to fig. 1, a thermoelectric module 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention may include: a first substrate 140 including a plurality of first electrodes 160 a; a second substrate 150 disposed opposite to the first substrate 140 and including a plurality of second electrodes 160 b; a plurality of thermoelectric devices 120 and 130 disposed between the first and second substrates 140 and 150 and electrically connected to the first and second electrodes 160a and 160 b; a wire connection hole S configured to penetrate at least one of the first and second substrates 140 and 150 and expose a portion of at least one surface of the first and second electrodes 160a and 160 b; and wires 181 and 182 connected to one surface of the first electrode 160a or the second electrode 160b exposed through the wire connection hole S and drawn out to the outside through the wire connection hole S.

In the structure of the thermoelectric module 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention shown in fig. 1, the wires are drawn out below the substrate, as compared to the structure of fig. 2 in which the wires 181 and 182 for applying power are inserted into the thermoelectric module and combined with the thermoelectric module, and thus, in fig. 2, the region X in which the wires 181 and 182 can be connected may be used, and the thermoelectric devices may be additionally disposed in the region X, and thus, the thermoelectric capacity may be greatly improved as compared to the same structure.

Specifically, the wire connection hole S of the thermoelectric module 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a pair of wire connection holes S respectively exposing different electrodes. For this, the wire connection hole S is formed to penetrate from the top surface to the bottom surface of the substrate. Accordingly, the bottom surface of the electrode formed on the top surface of the substrate may be exposed through the wire connection hole S. A pair of line connection holes S may be formed in the first substrate 140 or the second substrate 150. Alternatively, one of the pair of line connection holes S may be formed in the first substrate 140, and the other of the line connection holes S may be formed in the second substrate 150. For convenience of description, in this specification, a case where a pair of line connection holes S are formed in the second substrate 150 is described as an example, but is not limited thereto.

Here, the insulating layer may be formed on an inner wall of the wire connection hole S. Therefore, even when the outer skins (sheeth) of the wires 181 and 182 are peeled off, the wires 181 and 182 can be insulated from the substrate.

Here, the pair of wire connection holes S may expose different types of thermoelectric devices, respectively. For example, a pair of line connection holes S may expose a portion of one surface connected to the electrode of the first semiconductor device 120 and a portion of one surface connected to the electrode of the second semiconductor device 130. Here, one of the first and second semiconductor devices 120 and 130 may be a P-type thermoelectric device, and the other may be an N-type thermoelectric device. In this specification, the first semiconductor device 120 may be used in combination with a P-type thermoelectric device, a P-type semiconductor device, and a P-type thermoelectric semiconductor, and the second semiconductor device 130 may be used in combination with an N-type thermoelectric device, an N-type semiconductor device, and an N-type thermoelectric semiconductor.

Each line connection hole S may be implemented as a structure of a hole penetrating from the top surface to the bottom surface of the substrate. In addition, one end of each of the wires 181 and 182 may be bonded to the second electrode 160b, one surface of which is exposed through the wire connection hole S, and the other end of each of the wires 181 and 182 may be formed to be exposed outside the second substrate 150 through the wire connection hole S. That is, according to an embodiment of the present invention, in the case of a structure in which the wires 181 and 182 of fig. 2 are not interposed between the first and second substrates 140 and 150, the wires 181 and 182 are directly connected to the electrodes from the lower portion of the substrates, and thus, a plurality of thermoelectric devices may be disposed between the first and second substrates 140 and 150, and thus, space utilization may be enhanced.

Fig. 3A is a conceptual perspective view illustrating a structure in which the wire connection hole shown in fig. 1 is implemented and a thermoelectric device is disposed in the wire connection hole to enhance utilization. Fig. 3B is a conceptual top view of fig. 3A.

Referring to fig. 3A and 3B, since the thermoelectric module includes the line connection hole S formed in the second substrate 150, the thermoelectric device may be disposed on a portion to which a conventional line is connected, i.e., on an empty space corresponding to X shown in fig. 2. That is, both the P-type thermoelectric device and the N-type thermoelectric device may be disposed on each electrode exposed through the wire connection hole S and connected by the wires 181 and 182. Accordingly, the overall number of the arranged thermoelectric devices can be increased, and the thermoelectric efficiency can be improved.

Meanwhile, in the thermoelectric module according to the embodiment of the present invention, as shown in fig. 3A, the thermoelectric module may be implemented to further include guide grooves 183 and 184 communicating with the wire connection hole S in the second substrate 150. Each of the guide grooves 183 and 184 may have a pattern implemented as a structure in which a groove is formed in a bottom surface in a direction from the bottom surface to the top surface of the second substrate 150, and the wires 181 and 182 drawn out to the lower portion of the second substrate 150 through the wire connection hole S may be guided to a side surface of the substrate by being inserted in the formed groove. The structure of the groove may be implemented by forming a hole in a side surface portion of the second substrate 150 using a pattern of a structure leading to a lower portion of the second substrate 150.

Accordingly, the wires 181 and 182 do not have a structure of drooping to the lower portion of the second substrate 150, but have a structure of being inserted on the bottom surface of the second substrate 150 and being guided to the lateral direction, and thus, certain portions of the wires 181 and 182 may be fixed to the second substrate 150. Accordingly, the wires 181 and 182 may be supported so as not to be easily detached from the electrodes by a vertically downward applied force, and thus, a coupling force between the wires and the electrodes may be enhanced. As shown in fig. 3A, these guide grooves 183 and 184 may be formed from the line connection hole S to a side surface of the second substrate 150, and more than one guide groove 183 and 183' may be formed with respect to one line connection hole S. For example, a guide groove 183 formed from the wire connection hole S in a direction toward the front surface of the thermoelectric module 100 and a guide groove 183' formed from the wire connection hole S in a direction toward the side surface of the thermoelectric module 100 may be formed. Accordingly, the wire 181 drawn out from the lower portion of the second substrate 150 may be guided along the guide groove 183 or 183', and thus, the degree of freedom of wiring design may be enhanced.

In addition, in order to achieve a better coupling force, the guide grooves 183 and 184 may be implemented to include a curved connection path having a curved portion on the bottom surface of the second substrate 150 instead of a straight structure. In addition, the width of the guide grooves 183 and 184 may be formed to be smaller than the diameter of the wire connection hole S in consideration of specific elasticity achieved by the sheaths of the wires 181 and 182. Accordingly, when the wires 181 and 182 are insertedly coupled to the guide grooves 183 and 184, a strong coupling force can be achieved.

Further, in the thermoelectric module according to the embodiment of the present invention, as a structure together with the above-described guide grooves 183 and 184 or independently from the guide grooves 183 and 184, as shown in fig. 4, the thermoelectric module may include the protrusion-type support pattern Y in the wire connection hole S or in the guide grooves 183 and 184. The support pattern Y applies a support force to the threads 181 and 182 themselves using elasticity of the outer skins passing through the threads 181 and 182 inside the thread connection holes S, and thus, serves to reinforce the support force so that the threads 181 and 182 do not move in the vertical or lateral direction.

Hereinafter, different configurations of the thermoelectric module according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described.

Referring to fig. 1, for the first and second substrates 140 and 150 arranged opposite to each other and applied to the thermoelectric module according to the embodiment of the present invention as described above, generally, an insulating substrate (e.g., an aluminum substrate or a flexible polymer resin) may be used, and alternatively, in an aspect of the embodiment of the present invention, a metal substrate may be used to achieve high radiation efficiency and slimness. Naturally, when a metal substrate is used, it is preferable that a special dielectric layer (not shown) is further included and formed on a contact surface between the first electrode 160a and the second electrode 160b included in the first substrate 140 and the second substrate 150. Further, in the case of the wire connection hole S, it may be implemented to be insulated by an insulating layer. In the case of a metal substrate, copper, a copper alloy, a copper aluminum alloy, or the like can be applied. Further, the substrate according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a flexible substrate. The substrate may use various insulating resin materials including Polyimide (PI), Polystyrene (PS), Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA), Cyclic Olefin Copolymer (COC), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), high-transmission plastic such as resin, and the like.

Further, in another embodiment of the present invention, the first and second substrates 140 and 150 may be formed such that an area of a substrate on a radiation side among the first and second substrates 140 and 150 may be 1.2 times to 5 times with respect to an area of the other substrate, and thus, volumes may be different from each other. That is, even in fig. 1, the first and second substrates 140 and 150 are formed such that the width of the first substrate 140 is smaller than the width of the second substrate 150, and in this case, the areas of the substrates having the same thickness may be formed differently from each other, and thus, the volumes may be different from each other. Accordingly, the radiation performance of the thermoelectric module can be enhanced.

In addition, a radiation pattern (not shown), for example, a relief pattern, may be formed on the surface of the radiation-side substrate among the first and second substrates 140 and 150 so that radiation characteristics may be maximized. Therefore, even when the structure of the conventional heat sink is removed, more efficient radiation characteristics can be obtained. In this case, the radiation pattern may be formed on one surface or each surface of the radiation-side substrate. In particular, when the radiation pattern is formed on the surface in contact with the first semiconductor and the second semiconductor, the radiation characteristic and junction characteristic of the thermoelectric device and the substrate may be enhanced. In addition, the first and second substrates 140 and 150 are formed such that the thickness of a cold-side (i.e., heat-absorbing side) substrate among the first and second substrates 140 and 150 is smaller than that of the other substrate, and thus, heat inflow of the cold-side becomes easy and a heat transfer rate can be improved.

The first and second electrodes 160a and 160b electrically connect the first and second semiconductor devices 120 and 130 as a thermoelectric device using an electrode material such as copper, silver, nickel, or the like. The thickness of the electrode layer may be formed in the range of 0.01mm to 0.3 mm. More preferably, it may be implemented in the range of 10 μm to 20 μm.

Here, the first and second semiconductor devices 120 and 130 may be formed on one electrode, and when the structure is connected in a plurality, it becomes modularized as the structure of fig. 3A and 3B. In particular, in this case, the first and second semiconductor devices 120 and 130 according to an embodiment of the present invention may employ a semiconductor device formed in a bulk type (bulk-type) to which a P-type semiconductor material or an N-type semiconductor material is applied. The bulk type refers to a structure formed by grinding crystals (ingot) as a semiconductor material, performing a refining ball milling process, and then cutting the sintered structure. The block-type device may be formed in an integrated structure.

The N-type semiconductor material may be formed using a mixture mixed with a main source material formed of a bismuth telluride (BiTe) -based material including cesium (Se), nickel (Ni), aluminum (Al), copper (Cu), silver (Ag), lead (Pb), boron (B), gallium (Ga), tellurium (Te), bismuth (Bi), or indium (In), and Bi or Te corresponding to 0.001 to 1.0 weight percent of the total weight of the main source material. For example, the primary source material may be a Bi-Se-Te material, and 0.001 to 1.0 weight percent of Bi or Te of the total weight of the Bi-Se-Te material may be added to form an N-type semiconductor material. For example, when a Bi-Se-Te material having a weight of 100g is inputted, it is preferable that additionally mixed Bi or Te is inputted in the range of 0.001g to 1.0 g. When this value range is satisfied, a semiconductor material having a high figure of merit (ZT) can be obtained.

The P-type semiconductor material may be formed using a mixture mixed with a main source material formed of a bismuth telluride (BiTe) -based material including antimony (Sb), nickel (Ni), aluminum (Al), copper (Cu), silver (Ag), lead (Pb), boron (B), gallium (Ga), tellurium (Te), bismuth (Bi), or indium (In), and Bi or Te corresponding to 0.001 to 1.0 weight percent of the total weight of the main source material. For example, the primary source material may be a Bi-Sb-Te material, and 0.001 to 1.0 weight percent of Bi or Te based on the total weight of the Bi-Sb-Te material may be added to form a P-type semiconductor material. For example, when a Bi-Sb-Te material having a weight of 100g is inputted, it is preferable that Bi or Te additionally mixed is inputted in the range of 0.001g to 1.0 g. When this value range is satisfied, a semiconductor material having a high figure of merit (ZT) can be obtained.

Further, in the thermoelectric module including the thermoelectric device according to the embodiment of the present invention, the structure of the thermoelectric device may be formed such that the first substrate 140 and the second substrate 150 have different volumes and implemented as the structure of fig. 1. In embodiments of the present invention, the term "volume" is defined to refer to an internal volume formed by the circumferential surface of the substrate.

In the case of the thermoelectric device, the first semiconductor device 120 may include a P-type semiconductor device, and the second semiconductor device 130 may include an N-type semiconductor device, the first semiconductor device 120 and the second semiconductor device 130 are connected to the metal electrodes 160a and 160b, the structure is formed in a plurality, and thus, the peltier effect may be achieved by a conductive member supplying current to the semiconductor devices through the electrodes.

Further, the structure of the thermoelectric device according to the embodiment of the present invention may be implemented as a three-dimensional structure having a rectangular parallelepiped or a cube as shown in fig. 1 or a structure (e.g., a cylindrical shape) having the same width. Alternatively, the structure of the thermoelectric device may have the same shape as the structure shown in fig. 5.

Specifically, the thermoelectric device applied to the thermoelectric module according to the embodiment of the present invention as shown in fig. 5 may be implemented such that the width of the portion in contact with the exposed surfaces of the first and second electrodes 160a and 160b received on the first and second substrates 140 and 150, respectively, is wide.

Specifically, describing the above structure with reference to fig. 5, the thermoelectric device 120 may be implemented as a structure including: a first device unit 122 having a first cross-sectional area; a second device unit 126 having a second cross-sectional area and disposed at a position opposite to the first device unit 122; and a connection unit 124 having a third cross-sectional area and connecting the first device unit 122 and the second device unit 126. In particular, in this case, the cross-sectional area in any region of the connection unit 124 in the horizontal direction may be implemented to be smaller than the first cross-sectional area and the second cross-sectional area.

In the above structure, when the thermoelectric device having a structure of a single cross-sectional area (e.g., a cubic structure) and the same amount of material are applied, the areas of the first device unit 122 and the second device unit 126 may be realized to be widened, and the length of the connection unit 124 may be realized to be lengthened, and thus, an advantage of an expansion of the temperature difference (Δ T) between the first device unit 122 and the second device unit 126 may be realized. When the temperature difference increases, the amount of free electrons moving between the hot side and the cold side becomes large, and the amount of power generation increases, and therefore, efficiency can be improved in the case of cooling or heating.

Accordingly, in the thermoelectric device 120 according to the embodiment, horizontal cross-sectional areas of the first and second device units 122 and 126, which are implemented as flat-shaped structures or other three-dimensional structures at upper and lower portions of the connection unit 124, may be implemented to be larger, and the cross-sectional area of the connection unit 124 may be reduced by increasing the length of the connection unit 124. In particular, in an embodiment of the present invention, a ratio of a width B of a cross-section having a maximum width of a horizontal cross-section of the connection unit 124 to a width a or C of a cross-section of a larger cross-sectional area among the horizontal cross-sectional area of the first device unit 122 and the horizontal cross-sectional area of the second device unit 126 may be implemented in a range of 1:1.5 to 1: 1.4. When this value range is satisfied, the performance of power generation, heating, and cooling can be enhanced.

In another aspect of the embodiment of the structure, the thermoelectric device 120 may also be implemented such that the thicknesses a1 and a3 in the length direction of the first and second device units 122 and 126 are implemented to be less than the thickness a2 in the length direction of the connection unit 124.

Further, in the embodiment, a first cross-sectional area, which is a cross-sectional area in the horizontal direction of the first device unit 122, may be implemented to be different from a second cross-sectional area, which is a cross-sectional area in the horizontal direction of the second device unit 126. This is used to adjust the thermoelectric efficiency to easily control the desired temperature difference. Further, the first device unit 122, the second device unit 126, and the connection unit 124 may include a structure implemented as an integrated structure, and in this case, all units may be implemented using the same material.

Further, referring to fig. 6-8, fig. 6-8 are embodiments of another method for implementing a thermoelectric device according to the embodiment of the invention described in fig. 1-5.

For example, in another embodiment of the present invention, the structure of the semiconductor device described above is implemented as a stack-type structure instead of a block-type structure, so that the fiber fineness and the cooling efficiency can be more improved.

Specifically, the structure of the first and second semiconductor devices 120 and 130 shown in fig. 6 is implemented as a unit member in which a plurality of structures coated with a semiconductor material are stacked on a sheet-shaped base material (base material), and then, the unit member is cut so that material loss can be prevented and conductive characteristics can be enhanced.

For this, referring to fig. 6, fig. 6 shows a conceptual diagram of manufacturing the unit member of the above-described stack type structure. According to fig. 6, a material including a semiconductor material is manufactured in the form of a paste, the paste is coated on a base material 111 such as a sheet, a film, or the like to form a semiconductor layer 112, and a cell member 110 is formed. In the unit member 110, as shown in fig. 6, a plurality of unit members 110a, 110b, 110c, and 110d are stacked to form a stack-type structure, and then the stack-type structure is cut to form the unit thermoelectric device 120. That is, the unit thermoelectric device 120 according to an embodiment of the present invention may be formed in the following structure: a plurality of unit members 110 on which a semiconductor layer 112 is stacked are stacked on a base material 111.

In the above-described process, the process of coating the semiconductor paste on the base material 111 may be implemented using various methods, and by way of example, the process may be implemented by a tape casting process in which very fine semiconductor material powder is mixed with any one of water-based or non-water-based solvents and binders, plasticizers, dispersants, defoamers, and surfactants to form a slurry, and then forming is performed in a uniform thickness according to the desired purpose on a moving blade or a moving transfer base material. Here, the base material 111 may use a material such as a film, a sheet, or the like having a thickness in a range of 10 μm to 100 μm, and a P-type material and an N-type material used in manufacturing the above-described bulk type device may be applied to the coated semiconductor material as they are.

In the process of arranging and stacking the unit members 110 in a plurality of layers, the unit members 110 may be formed into a stack-type structure by pressing at a temperature of 50 to 250 ℃, and the number of the stacked unit members 110 may be in the range of 2 to 50 in the embodiment of the present invention. Then, a cutting process may be performed according to a desired shape and size, and a sintering process may be added.

The unit thermoelectric device formed by stacking the plurality of unit members 110 manufactured based on the above process may obtain uniformity in thickness and size of shape. For example, in a conventional thermoelectric device having a block shape, after a crystallization grinding process and a refining ball milling process, a sintered block structure is cut. Therefore, the material loss is large in the cutting process, and further, it is difficult to perform cutting in a uniform size, and the thickness is about 3 to 5mm (thick), and therefore, there is a problem that thinning is difficult. However, in the unit thermoelectric device having the stack type structure according to the embodiment of the present invention, the sheet stacked material is cut after stacking the plurality of unit members having the sheet shape, and thus, the loss of the material is small and the material has a uniform thickness, and thus, the uniformity of the material can be obtained, the refinement of the fiber can be achieved since the thickness of the entire unit thermoelectric device is 1.5mm or less, and the application having various shapes is possible. The final structure, which is the structure of the thermoelectric device according to the embodiment of the present invention described above with reference to fig. 1 to 4, may be realized by cutting in a cylindrical structure, a cubic structure, or a rectangular parallelepiped structure, or by realizing the shape of fig. 5 and cutting in the shape of (d) of fig. 6.

In particular, in the manufacturing process of the thermoelectric device according to the embodiment of the present invention, a process of forming a conductive layer on the surface of the unit member 110 may be further included in the process of forming the stack structure of the unit member 110.

That is, the conductive layer having the structure in fig. 7 may be formed between two unit members of the stack structure of fig. 6 (c). The conductive layer may be formed on a surface opposite to the surface of the base material on which the semiconductor layer is formed, and in this case, the conductive layer may be formed as a patterned layer so as to form a region where the surface of the unit member is exposed. Therefore, electrical conductivity can be enhanced, and at the same time, the adhesive force between the respective unit members can be enhanced as compared with the case where the entire surface is coated, and the advantage of reducing thermal conductivity can be achieved.

That is, fig. 7 shows various modifications of the conductive layer C according to the embodiment of the present invention, and the pattern of the surface exposure of the unit member may be designed using various modifications, such as a mesh-type structure including closed-type opening patterns C1 and C2 as shown in fig. 7 (a) and 7 (b) or a line-type structure including open-type opening patterns C3 and C4 as shown in fig. 7 (C) and 7 (d). The above-described conductive layer not only increases the adhesive force between the respective unit members in the unit thermoelectric device in which the unit members are formed in a stack-type structure, but also has advantages of reducing thermal conductivity and enhancing electrical conductivity. Therefore, the cooling capacity (Qc) and the temperature difference (Δ T) (° c) can be improved as compared to the conventional bulk-type thermoelectric device, and particularly, the power factor can be increased by 1.5 times, that is, the conductivity can be increased by 1.5 times. The increase in electrical conductivity is directly related to the increase in thermoelectric efficiency, and therefore, the cooling efficiency can be increased. The conductive layer may be formed of a metal material, and all metal-based electrode materials such as Cu, Ag, Ni, and the like may be applied.

When the unit thermoelectric device of the stack type structure described in fig. 6 is applied to the thermoelectric modules shown in fig. 1 to 5, that is, when the thermoelectric device according to the embodiment of the present invention is disposed between the first and second substrates 140 and 150 and the thermoelectric modules are implemented in unit cells of a structure including electrode layers, the overall thickness (Th) may be formed in a range of 1mm to 1.5mm, and thus, when compared to the thermoelectric module using the conventional block type device, significant slimness may be achieved.

Further, as shown in fig. 8, the thermoelectric devices 120 and 130 described above with reference to fig. 6 may be arranged to be horizontally arranged in the upward direction X and the downward direction Y as shown in (a) of fig. 8, and then may be cut as shown in (c) of fig. 8 to form a thermoelectric module according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In the structure of (c) of fig. 8, the thermoelectric module may be formed in a structure in which surfaces of the first substrate 140, the second substrate 150, the semiconductor layer, and the base material 111 are adjacent, but may be formed in a structure in which a side surface having unit thermoelectric devices is arranged adjacent to the first substrate 140 and the second substrate 150 by vertically erecting the thermoelectric devices themselves, as shown in (b) of fig. 8. In the structure as described above, the end portion of the conductive layer is exposed on the side portion as compared with the horizontally arranged structure, the heat conduction efficiency in the vertical direction can be reduced, and at the same time, the electric conduction efficiency can be improved, and therefore, the cooling efficiency can be further improved.

As described above, in the thermoelectric device applied to the thermoelectric module of the embodiment of the present invention, the first semiconductor device and the second semiconductor device disposed opposite to each other may be identical in shape and size. However, in this case, considering that the conductive characteristics of the P-type semiconductor device and the N-type semiconductor device are different and that this becomes a factor of lowering the cooling efficiency, the volume of one semiconductor device may be set to be different from the volume of the other semiconductor device arranged opposite to this semiconductor device, and therefore, the cooling efficiency may also be improved.

That is, the formation of the volume of the semiconductor devices arranged opposite to each other can be largely achieved by forming overall shapes different from each other, forming the diameter of a cross section larger on one side in the semiconductor devices having the same height, or forming the different heights or diameters of the cross sections in the semiconductor devices having the same shape. In particular, thermoelectric efficiency can be improved by forming the diameter of the N-type semiconductor device to be larger than that of the P-type semiconductor device to increase the volume.

Thermoelectric devices having various structures and thermoelectric modules including thermoelectric devices according to an aspect of embodiments of the present invention may be used in the power generation module as described above, or for achieving cooling by absorbing heat of a medium such as water, liquid, or the like, based on characteristics of heat generating portions and heat absorbing portions on surfaces of the upper and lower substrates, or for transferring heat to a specific medium for heating. That is, in the thermoelectric module according to aspects of the present invention, the structure of the cooling device that improves the cooling efficiency is described as an example, but in a substrate arranged opposite to the substrate performing cooling, the thermoelectric module is applicable to a device that uses the thermoelectric module for heating a medium using heat generation characteristics. That is, one device may be applied to an apparatus that simultaneously performs a cooling function and a heating function.

According to the embodiments of the present invention, the efficiency of the thermoelectric module can be improved by enlarging the area in which the thermoelectric devices are arranged.

Further, according to the embodiments of the present invention, the wire can be prevented from being detached and can be stably supported.

Further, according to the embodiment of the present invention, the thermoelectric module can obtain a slim thermoelectric module having a high radiation effect.

Further, according to the embodiments of the present invention, it is possible to provide a thermoelectric device and a thermoelectric module including the same, in which a cooling capacity (Qc) and a temperature difference (Δ T) are significantly improved by reducing a thermal conductivity and improving an electrical conductivity.

Further, the techniques provided by the present disclosure may be configured as follows.

Scheme 1. a thermoelectric module, comprising:

a first substrate including a plurality of first electrodes;

a second substrate disposed opposite to the first substrate and including a plurality of second electrodes;

a plurality of thermoelectric devices disposed between the first substrate and the second substrate and electrically connected to the first electrode and the second electrode; and

a wire connection hole configured to penetrate at least one of the first substrate and the second substrate and expose a portion of one surface of at least one of the first electrode and the second electrode.

Scheme 2. the thermoelectric module according to scheme 1, wherein the wire connection hole includes a pair of wire connection holes exposing different electrodes, respectively.

Scheme 3. the thermoelectric module of scheme 2, wherein the different electrodes are respectively connected to different types of thermoelectric devices.

Scheme 4. the thermoelectric module of scheme 3, wherein one hole of the pair of line connection holes is exposed to be connected to an electrode of a P-type thermoelectric device, and the other hole of the pair of line connection holes is exposed to be connected to an electrode of an N-type thermoelectric device.

Scheme 5. the thermoelectric module of scheme 1, further comprising: and a guide groove formed on one surface of the substrate on which the line connection hole is formed.

The thermoelectric module of claim 6, wherein the guide groove is formed from the wire connection hole to a side surface of the substrate.

The thermoelectric module of claim 7, wherein the guide groove is formed to be bent from the wire connection hole to a side surface of the substrate.

The thermoelectric module of claim 8, wherein the width of the guide groove is smaller than the diameter of the wire connection hole.

Scheme 9. the thermoelectric module according to scheme 6, wherein more than two guide grooves are formed from one wire connection hole.

Scheme 10. the thermoelectric module of scheme 1, wherein the plurality of thermoelectric devices comprises P-type thermoelectric devices and N-type thermoelectric devices.

Scheme 11. the thermoelectric module of scheme 1, further comprising: a wire connected to one surface exposed through the wire connection hole and drawn out to the outside through the wire connection hole.

Scheme 12. the thermoelectric module according to scheme 1, wherein both the P-type thermoelectric device and the N-type thermoelectric device are disposed on each electrode exposed through the wire connection hole.

Scheme 13. the thermoelectric module according to scheme 1, wherein an insulating layer is formed on an inner wall of the wire connection hole.

Scheme 14. a thermal converter comprising the thermoelectric module of scheme 1.

While the invention has been shown and described with reference to certain exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Description of the reference numerals

110: unit component

111: base material

112: semiconductor layer

120: thermoelectric device

122: first device unit

124: connection unit

126: second device unit

130: thermoelectric device

140: first substrate

150: second substrate

160a, 160 b: a first electrode and a second electrode

S: wire connecting hole

181, 182: thread

Y: the pattern is supported.