Method and structure for thermoelectric unicouple assembly

摘要

Method for assembling thermoelectric unicouples is provided and applied with silicon-based nanostructure thermoelectric legs. The method includes preparing and disposing both n-type and p-type thermoelectric material blocks in alternative columns on a first shunt material. The method includes a sequence of cutting processes to resize the thermoelectric material blocks to form multiple singulated unicouples each having an n-type thermoelectric leg and a p-type thermoelectric leg bonded to a section of the first shunt material. Additionally, the method includes re-disposing these singulated unicouples in a serial daisy chain configuration with a predetermined pitch distance and bonding a second shunt material on top. The method further includes performing additional cutting processes to form one or more daisy chains of thermoelectric unicouples. The first shunt material is coupled to a cold-side heat sink and the second shunt material is coupled to a hot-side heat sink.

主权项

1. A method for assembling a plurality of thermoelectric unicouples, the method comprising:
providing a plurality of blocks, each block having a generally rectangular shape having a width and a length, each block of the plurality including either an n-type thermoelectric functional semiconductor material or a p-type thermoelectric functional semiconductor material; disposing the plurality of blocks on a first shunt wafer in a 2D array wherein each of the blocks including the n-type thermoelectric functional material is alternately disposed next to one of the blocks including the p-type thermoelectric functional material; performing a first cutting operation along the length of each block to reduce the width of each block and increase a gap spacing between two neighboring blocks substantially without removing any material of the first shunt wafer; performing a second cutting operation along the width of each block through the first shunt wafer below to divide each block along the length into a column of multiple units; performing a third cutting operation along a middle line of each column of multiple units through the first shunt wafer below to further cut each unit of each of the columns of multiple units into two thermoelectric functional legs respectively attached on two separate remaining pieces of the first shunt wafer, the combination of the first cutting operation, the second cutting operation, and the third cutting operation causing a formation of a plurality of unicouples each comprising the two thermoelectric functional legs, the two thermoelectric functional legs comprising an n-type thermoelectric functional leg attached at one end of a same remaining piece of the first shunt wafer and a p-type thermoelectric functional leg attached at another end of the same remaining piece of the first shunt wafer; re-arranging the plurality of unicouples in one or more serial chains by bonding the same remaining piece of the first shunt wafer of each unicouple onto a first base plate such that every unicouple in the serial chain comprises a same spatial orientation of the n-type thermoelectric functional leg on one end and the p-type thermoelectric functional leg of that unicouple on another end of the same remaining piece of the first shunt wafer; bonding a second shunt wafer to the n-type thermoelectric functional leg and the p-type thermoelectric functional leg of each unicouple in the one or more serialchains; performing a fourth cutting operation to remove material of the second shunt wafer partially from regions beyond two longitudinal edges of each serial chain and regions between the n-type thermoelectric functional leg and the p-type thermoelectric functional leg of each unicouple substantially without removing any material of the first shunt wafer and the first base plate; and attaching a second base plate from above to bond with each and every remaining piece of the second shunt wafer.