Integration of material sintering and p–n connection for high-performance PbTe thermoelectric modules

Abstract

Achieving a low-resistance and highly stable connection between high-temperature electrodes and thermoelectric legs is a major challenge in module fabrication. Herein, we propose a method of co-sintering p-type and n-type PbTe materials with barrier layer materials, achieving a non-destructive connection of U-shaped p–n thermoelectric legs. This approach omits the metal electrode layer, effectively reducing the interfacial resistance and thermal stress. In the eight pairs of PbTe modules fabricated using this method, the total interfacial resistance accounts for only 0.6% of the internal resistance. Consequently, a high output power of 1.41 W and ∼9.1% conversion efficiency are achieved with the temperature difference of 550 K. The module is operated for 50 thermal cycles between hot-side temperatures of 593 K and 793 K, with no significant degradation. This work demonstrates that thermoelectric modules constructed using the co-sintering method exhibit high output performance and reliability, representing a novel fabrication approach for producing high-quality thermoelectric modules.