Fabrication of Multilayer-Type Mn-Si Thermoelectric Device

Abstract

This research aims to develop a direct-contact manganese silicon p/n multilayer-type thermoelectric power generation block. p-type MnSi_1.74 and n-type Mn_0.7Fe_0.3Si_1.68 ball-milled powders with diameter of about 10 μm or less were mixed with polyvinyl butyl alcohol diluted with methylbenzene at pigment volume concentration of approximately 70%. The doctor-blade method produced 45-μm-thick p- and n-type pigment plates. The insulator, i.e., powdered glass, was mixed with cellulose to form insulator slurry. Lamination of manganese silicide pigment layers and screen-printed insulator layers was carried out to fabricate multilayer direct-contact thermoelectric devices. Hot pressing and spark plasma sintering were carried out at 450°C and 900°C, respectively. Four to 30 thermoelectric (TE) p/n pairs were fabricated in a 10 mm × 10 mm × 10 mm sintered TE block. The maximum output was 11.7 mW/cm² at a temperature difference between 20°C and 700°C, which was about 1/85 of the ideal power generation estimated from the thermoelectric data of the bulk MnSi_1.74 and Mn_0.7Fe_0.3Si_1.68 materials. A power generation test using an engine test bench was also carried out.