New Integration Technology for PbTe Element

The paper reports a new technology for integration of PbTe elements. In traditional procedure, the first step is to prepare PbTe materials, then to bond them together with electrodes. We press the PbTe powder together with the powder of electrode and buffer materials by powder metallurgy after PbTe alloy was prepared, and obtain the elements directly. The paper described the technical process in detail. The authors prepared some samples of N-type PbTe elements using the technology. The electrode, buffer, PbTe material and their interfaces of the prepared samples are characterized by SEM and ED. The contact resistances have been measured and compared with the sample prepared by traditional technology. The results indicate that the proposed technology is easy, economic and feasible. It may simplify preparation process of PbTe elements, reduce the times PbTe materials suffered at high temperature and decrease the contact resistance