Semiconductor device manufacturing: process – Making device or circuit emissive of nonelectrical signal
Patent
1998-03-19
1999-09-07
Chaudhari, Chandra
Semiconductor device manufacturing: process
Making device or circuit emissive of nonelectrical signal
257 62, 257633, 257930, H01L 21324
Patent
active
059500670
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a method of fabricating a thermoelectric module composed of a plurality of thermoelectric chips arranged between a pair of dielectric substrates and electrically connected in series to each other so as to heat one of the substrates and cool the other substrate due to the Peltier effect obtained in the individual thermoelectric chips.
BACKGROUND ART
Japanese Patent Publication No. 38-25925 discloses a method of fabricating a conventional thermoelectric module. In this method, a plurality of elongated P-type and N-type thermoelectric bars are arranged alternately and bonded between a pair of conductive plates, after which they are cut along a direction perpendicular to the length of the bar together with the plates so that each bar is cut into a plurality of thermoelectric chips each having on its upper and lower faces individual contacts formed from the separated conductive plates. The resulting chips are electrically connected in series through the contacts. When preparing the thermoelectric module having the thermoelectric chips arranged in a matrix with this method, it is possible to provide a plurality of staggered lines of cut from the opposite directions to the conductive plates. However, it is difficult to hold the thermoelectric bars as well as the conductive plates in accurate positions during such cutting operation. With this result, not only the accurate cutting may not be made to the thermoelectric bars and the conductive plates, but also the resulting thermoelectric module has the lines of cut forming such a zig-zag pattern that the thermoelectric chips on one side of the line of cut is connected to those on the other side of the line of cut only through the contact at one end of the line of cut. Therefore, there remains a problem in that a great care has to be paid for maintaining such module in a correct posture until it is assembled between a pair of substrates forming heat radiating panel and cooling panel, respectively.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has been accomplished in view of the above problem and has a primary object of providing a method of fabricating a thermoelectric module in an easy and accurate manner. The method according to the present invention is for fabricating the thermoelectric module which is composed of a plurality of thermoelectric chips arranged in a matrix between a pair of first and second dielectric substrates and electrically connected in series to each other so as to heat a side of the first substrate and cool a side of the second substrate due to the Peltier effect obtained in the thermoelectric chips. The method utilizes a plurality of elongated thermoelectric bars of P-type and N-type to be separated into the thermoelectric chips and a first conductive plate carrying a plurality of first contacts arranged in a matrix, the adjacent ones of the first contacts arranged in a row of the matrix are interconnected respectively by horizontal bridges, while the first contacts are spaced along a column of the matrix. The method comprises the steps of integrating the first conductive plate to the first substrate to support the first conductive plate by the first substrate; placing a plurality of the elongated thermoelectric bars of P-type and N-type on the first contacts along the row in such a manner that P-type bars alternate the N-type bars in a spaced relation along the column of the matrix; bonding each elongated thermoelectric bar on its one face to the row of the first contacts; cutting each elongated thermoelectric bar into the thermoelectric chips as well as cutting the horizontal bridges simultaneously to allocate the resulting thermoelectric chips on the individual first contacts; placing a plurality of second contacts on the chips opposite of the first contacts to form a series electric circuit of the chips in combination with the first contacts, and bonding a second substrate supporting the second contacts to the first substrate for connection therebetween. The characterizing featu
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Inoue Hiroyuki
Komatsu Teruaki
Maegawa Nobuteru
Murase Shinya
Okada Hiroaki
Chaudhari Chandra
Matsushita Electric & Works Ltd.
Sulsky Martin
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