Fabrication of a Silicide Thermoelectric Module Employing Fractional Factorial Design Principles

Abstract Thermoelectric modules can be used in waste heat harvesting, sensing, and cooling applications. Here, we report on the fabrication and performance of a four-leg module based on abundant silicide materials. While previously optimized Mg 2 Si 0.3 Sn 0.675 Bi 0.025 is used as the n -type leg, we employ a fractional factorial design based on the Taguchi methods mapping out a four-dimensional parameter space among Mn x-ε Mo ε Si 1.75−δ Ge δ higher manganese silicide compositions for the p -type material. The module is assembled using a scalable fabrication process, using a Cu metallization layer and a Pb-based soldering paste. The maximum power output density of 53 μW cm –2 is achieved at a hot-side temperature of 250 °C and a temperature difference of 100 °C. This low thermoelectric output is related to the high contact resistance between the thermoelectric materials and the metallic contacts, underlining the importance of improved metallization schemes for thermoelectric module assembly