Fabrication of a Silicide Thermoelectric Module Employing Fractional Factorial Design Principles

AbstractThermoelectric 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 Mg2Si0.3Sn0.675Bi0.025 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 Mnx-εMoεSi1.75−δGeδ 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 temp…