Alphabet Energy, Inc.

Mario Aguirre

Matthew L Scullin

Barbara Wacker

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.

Method and structure for thermoelectric unicouple assembly

Nanostructured thermoelectric elements are made from planar uniwafer processing methods. The method includes producing either n-type or p-type thermoelectric uniwafer structure bearing nanostructure material embedded in a low thermal conductivity fill material. The method further includes partially cutting the uniwafer structure to form a plurality of chip structures separated by trenches. The method includes filling the trenches with the fill material to surround the nanostructure material within each chip structure. The method further includes additionally planar processing to form both frontend and backend conductive contact layers respectively coupled to frontend regions and backend regions of the chip structures. Additionally, the modified thermoelectric uniwafer structure is cut to turn the chip structures to bulk-sized nanostructured thermoelectric legs, each bulk-sized nanostructured thermoelectric leg being wrapped around by the fill material and ready for assembling thermoelectric modules.

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Livermore, CA, United States of America

Mario Aguirre