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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 7663054 | Thermoelectric material and thermoelectric module using the thermoelectric material Disclosed is a thermoelectric material comprising a main phase which is represented by the following composition formula and having an MgAgAs-type crystalline structure: (Ta1Zrb1Hfc1)xCoySb100-x-y... | 02/16/2010 |
| 7586033 | Metal-doped semiconductor nanoparticles and methods of synthesis thereof The present invention generally relates to binary or higher order semiconductor nanoparticles doped with a metallic element, and thermoelectric compositions incorporating such nanoparticles. In one aspect, the present invention provides a thermoelectric composition ... | 09/08/2009 |
| 7365265 | Thermoelectric materials comprising nanoscale inclusions to enhance seebeck coefficient A thermoelectric material having enhanced Seebeck coefficient is characterized by a microstructure comprising nanoscale Pb inclusions dispersed in matrix substantially composed of PbTe. The excess Pb is obtained either by adding Pb in an amount greater than the stoi... | 04/29/2008 |
| 7360437 | Devices for evaluating material properties, and related processes A device for measuring at least one property of a material sample is disclosed. The device includes at least one sensor element which is formed by a direct-write technique. The device can be an instrument for measuring strain in the sample, or for measuring other pr... | 04/22/2008 |
| 7342169 | Phonon-blocking, electron-transmitting low-dimensional structures A thermoelectric structure and device including at least first and second material systems having different lattice constants and interposed in contact with each other, and a physical interface at which the at least first and second material systems are joined with ... | 03/11/2008 |
| 7342170 | Thermoelectric module with Si/SiC and BC/BC super-lattice legs A super-lattice thermoelectric device. The device is comprised of p-legs and n-legs, each leg being comprised of a large number of very thin alternating layers of two materials with differing electron band gaps. The n-legs in the device are comprised of alternating ... | 03/11/2008 |
| 7326851 | Pb-Ge-Te-compounds for thermoelectric generators or Peltier arrangements A thermoelectrically active p- or n-conductive semiconductor material is constituted by a ternary compound of the general formula (I) (Pb1-xGex)Te (I) with x value from 0.16 to 0.5, wherein 0 to 10% by weight ... | 02/05/2008 |
| 7321157 | CoSb-based thermoelectric device fabrication method A method of fabricating a CoSb3-based thermoelectric device is disclosed. The method includes providing a high-temperature electrode, providing a buffer layer on the high-temperature electrode, forming composite n-type and p-type layers, attaching the buf... | 01/22/2008 |
| 7312392 | Thermoelectric conversion device, and cooling method and power generating method using the device The present invention provides a thermoelectric conversion device having high thermoelectric conversion performance. In this device, electrodes are arranged so that electric current flows in an interlayer direction of a layered substance, unlike the arrangements der... | 12/25/2007 |
| 7247603 | Charge dissipative dielectric for cryogenic devices A Superconducting Quantum Interference Device (SQUID) is disclosed comprising a pair of resistively shunted Josephson junctions connected in parallel within a superconducting loop and biased by an external direct current (dc) source. The SQUID comprises a semiconduc... | 07/24/2007 |
| RE39640 | Conductive isostructural compounds A family of isostructural compounds have been prepared having the general formula AnPbmBinO2n+m. These compounds possess a NaCl lattice type structure as well as low thermal conductivity and controlled electrical conductiv... | 05/22/2007 |
| 7179986 | Self-assembled quantum dot superlattice thermoelectric materials and devices A thermoelectric (TE) device includes a first leg of TE material (a pseudobinary or pseudoternary alloy) and a second leg comprising a metal wire. The second leg is in thermal and electrical communication with the first leg. The TE device has a ZT value of approxima... | 02/20/2007 |
| 7166796 | Method for producing a device for direct thermoelectric energy conversion In devices used for the direct conversion of heat into electricity, or vice versa, known in the art as thermoelectric power generators, thermoelectric refrigerators and thermoelectric heat pumps, the efficiency of energy conversion and/or coefficient of performance ... | 01/23/2007 |
| 7164103 | Electrical heating resistance element An electrical resistance heating element having a glow zone and two power supply terminals. The glow zone of the element is tubular. A tubular union is provided between each of the power supply terminals and a respective end of the glow zone, wherein the inner diame... | 01/16/2007 |
| 7109408 | Solid state energy converter A solid-state energy converter with a semiconductor or semiconductor-metal implementation is provided for conversion of thermal energy to electric energy, or electric energy to refrigeration. In n-type heat-to-electricity embodiments, a highly doped n* emitter regio... | 09/19/2006 |
| 7029173 | Thermoelectric component A thermoelectric component includes a first and a second element which, in the vicinity of a contact point, are in contact with each other, e.g., in the form of a thermal contact. Furthermore, in this connection, first element and/or second element have a ceramic ma... | 04/18/2006 |
| 7004622 | Systems and methods for determining conditions of articles and methods of making such systems A system for measuring a condition of a turbine engine component comprises an assemblage of at least a film comprising an electrically conducting material disposed on a film of an electrically non-conducting material, the assemblage being disposed on a surface of th... | 02/28/2006 |
| 7002071 | Thermoelectric conversion material and method of producing the same A thermoelectric conversion material is formed of a polycrystal structure of crystal grains composed of a silicon-rich phase, and an added element-rich phase in which at least one type of added element is deposited at the grain boundary thereof, the result of which ... | 02/21/2006 |
| 6991370 | Temperature measuring apparatus of high melting point metal carbide-carbon system material thermocouple type, and method for producing the apparatus The temperature measuring apparatus according to the present invention is of the high melting point metal carbide—carbon system material thermocouple type. According to this temperature measuring apparatus, it is possible to measure temperatures from a room temper... | 01/31/2006 |
| 6946596 | Tunneling-effect energy converters Tunneling-effect converters of thermal energy to electricity with an emitter and a collector separated from each other by a distance that is comparable to atomic dimensions and where tunneling effect plays an important role in the charge movement from the emitter to... | 09/20/2005 |
| 6833083 | Thermoelectric material and thermoelectric converting element using the same Compounds are expressed by general formula of AxBC2−y where 0≦x≦2 and 0≦y | 12/21/2004 |
| 6774298 | Thermoelectric module and method of producing the same A thermoelectric module which includes case 1, heat-radiation side insulating substrate 4a, heat-absorption side insulating substrate 4b, first soldering layer 5a formed of a first soldering agent to connect the heat-... | 08/10/2004 |
| 6770508 | Electrode for silicon carbide semiconductor, silicon carbide semiconductor element comprising the electrode, and production method therefor An ohmic electrode for an SiC semiconductor includes a p-type Si layer formed on the surface of a p-type SiC semiconductor, and a metal silicide layer formed on the surface of the Si layer, the metal silicide layer being formed from a metal silicide such as PtSi. Th... | 08/03/2004 |
| 6677515 | High performance thermoelectric material and method of fabrication A thermoelectric material is disclosed that is manufactured from a method including the steps of: providing a Group IV element boride, and doping the Group IV element boride with a doping element chosen from one of the column III, IV, V elements, wherein ... | 01/13/2004 |
| 6673996 | Thermoelectric unicouple used for power generation A high-efficiency thermoelectric unicouple is used for power generation. The unicouple is formed with a plurality of legs, each leg formed of a plurality of segments. The legs are formed in a way that equalizes certain aspects of the different segments. D... | 01/06/2004 |
| 6653548 | Thermoelectric conversion material, method for manufacturing same, and thermoelectric conversion element A cuboid p-type and an n-type thermoelectric conversion material having a composite of an alloy powder for a rare earth magnet and a bismuth-based thermoelectric conversion material that has been rendered a p-type semiconductor or an n-type semiconductor ... | 11/25/2003 |
| 6620994 | Thermoelectric generators A thermoelectric module including a couple formed between two bismuth telluride thermoelectrodes. The first thermoelectrode is doped with palladium, selenium, or a combination of the two. The second thermoelectrode is doped with antimony, gold, or a combi... | 09/16/2003 |
| 6552255 | Thermoelectric composition The thermoelectric properties (resistivity, thermopower and thermal conductivity) of single crystals of the low-dimensional pentatelluride materials are disclosed. The pentatellurides are well suited for use in thermoelectric devices. In general, the pent... | 04/22/2003 |
| 6525260 | Thermoelectric conversion material, and method for manufacturing same A silicon-based polycrystal powder, which contains no more than 30 at % Ge, C, Sn, or another such element that does not generate carriers as well as an added element that does generate carriers, and which has a crystal structure including crystal grains ... | 02/25/2003 |
| 6498288 | Silicon germanium crystal Provided is an SiGe crystal having an improved performance index and excellent machinability as a material constituting a thermoelectric element, neither degradation in characteristics nor cracking occurring during use. Crystal grains forming the crystal ... | 12/24/2002 |
| 6444896 | Quantum dot thermoelectric materials and devices Quantum-dot superlattice (QLSL) structures having improved thermoelectric properties are described. In one embodiment, PbSex Te1-x /PbTe QDSLs are provided having enhanced values of Seebeck coefficient and thermoelectric figure of me... | 09/03/2002 |
| 6399871 | Thermoelectric materials: ternary penta telluride and selenide compounds Ternary tellurium compounds and ternary selenium compounds may be used in fabricating thermoelectric devices with a thermoelectric figure of merit (ZT) of 1.5 or greater. Examples of such compounds include Tl2 SnTe5, Tl2 G... | 06/04/2002 |
| 6342668 | Thermoelectric materials with filled skutterudite structure for thermoelectric devices A class of thermoelectric compounds based on the skutterudite structure with heavy filling atoms in the empty octants and substituting transition metals and main-group atoms. High Seebeck coefficients and low thermal conductivities are achieved in combina... | 01/29/2002 |
| 6340787 | Power converter for supplying electricity from a difference in temperature An energy converting circuit, boosting the voltage supplied by a low direct voltage source, comprising a self-oscillating circuit, operating at very low voltage, using a voltage boosting transformer generating control signals of two chopper-boosters opera... | 01/22/2002 |
| 6312617 | Conductive isostructural compounds A family of isostructural compounds have been prepared having the general formula An Pbm Bin Q2n+m. These compounds possess a NaCl lattice type structure as well as low thermal conductivity and controlled electr... | 11/06/2001 |
| 6235981 | P-type thermoelectric converting substance and method of manufacturing the same A p-type thermoelectric converting substance used as a p-type semiconductor in a thermoelectric converting module consisting essentially of a substance expressed by a chemical formula CoSbx Sny or CoSbx Gey (2.7... | 05/22/2001 |
| 6225550 | Thermoelectric material system An improved material for a thermoelectric device and thermoelectric systems incorporating the same.... | 05/01/2001 |
| 6207887 | Miniature milliwatt electric power generator A miniature thermoelectric module for generating electric power from low power heat sources in the range of a fraction of a Watt to a few Watts. The module comprises an array of thermoelectric elements, each element having a cross section of less than 0.0... | 03/27/2001 |
| 6207888 | Semiconductor materials with skutterudite type crystal lattice structures optimized for selected thermoelectric properties and methods of preparation The present invention allows optimum filling of void spaces typically found in skutterudite type crystal lattice structures associated with various semiconductor materials. Selective filling of such void spaces in the associated lattice structure provides... | 03/27/2001 |
| 6204443 | Solar cell module having a specific front side covering material and a process for the production of said solar cell module A solar cell module comprising a photovoltaic element, and at least a surface side filler and a surface protective member which are disposed in this order on a light incident face of said photovoltaic element, wherein said surface side filler comprises a ... | 03/20/2001 |