ABSTRACT
Filled Skutterudites (SKUs) show promising physical and mechanical properties for power generation by using the intermediate temperature heat sources such as automobiles. Due to the low electrical resistivity of filled SKU material, good contact material with low specific contact resistivity is critical for obtaining high-performance thermoelectric (TE) modules. Multiple-layer contact consists of a top electrode layer and one or more intermediate layers between the electrode and TE materials. The intermediate layer has been widely used to make TE legs. Although using intermediate barrier layer between electrode and filled SKU effectively reduced the thermal stress and improved the chemical stability of the contact, this method made the preparation of the TE legs more complicated and is adding the extra resistance into the total leg resistance through contact making. Cobalt silicide is another type of contact material for filled SKU. Cobalt silicides have high electrical and thermal conductivities.
