多晶碲化铋基热电材料制备及性能测试

Performance optimization for polycrystalline Bi2Te3-based radioisotope thermoelectric generators

温差发电是利用半导体热电材料的塞贝克效应,将热能直接转化为电能的电源装置。针对单晶碲化铋材料机械性能差的缺点,采用机械合金和放电等离子体烧结法制备了具有良好机械性能的多晶碲化铋基热电材料及其模块,无量纲优值分别达到1.10(p型)和1.08(n型)。并对温差发电模块的输出性能进行了测试,结果说明在温差为178K时,输出功率达到约8.2W,对应模块的功率密度约为0.51W/cm^2。

Radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTG) have been widely applied in spacecraft for the deep space exploration. In order to enhance the comprehensive performance of the thermoelectric modules, polycrystalline bismuth telluride of good mechanical performance and its modules were fabricated with the figure-of-merit up to 1.10 (p type) and 1.08 (n type). The output performance of the thermoelectric module is tested. The results show that when the temperature difference is 178 K, the output power reaches about 8.2 W, and the area specific power of the corresponding module is about 0.51 W/cm^2.