Contact Systems for Multisectional Generator Thermoelements

Obtaining reliable commutation between the segments of thermoelement (TE) legs using contact systems (CS) while fabricating the multisectional generator thermoelements (MTE) with working temperature range 300 - 1200 K is an urgent task. These systems provide ohmic contact with thermoelectric materials (TM) and between the CS layers. They are to act as a diffusion barrier and have high adhesion strength. CS for TM based on Bi
₂
Te
₃
were obtained by an electron beam and ion-plasma deposition of Ni and Mo. Structures of CS for TM based on PbTe and GeTe were proposed. W-Ta-N/Ni, Ni/W-Ta-N/Ni and Ni/TiN/Ni contact systems were obtained by using the ion-plasma method. CS for TM based on Si
_0.8
Ge
_0.2
were developed. Mo/Ni, Ni/Mo/Ni contact systems were obtained by an electron beam and ion-plasma deposition. To obtain commutation layers chemical and electrochemical deposition of Ni was also used. Adhesion strength of CS is 10-20 MPa. The CS Resistivity is not more than 10
^-9
Ohmm
²
.