Patent ID: 8658880
Filing Date: 2014-02-25
Classification: B21C,H01L

Abstract:
1. A method of drawing glass clad wires, comprising: sealing off one end of a glass tube such that the glass tube has an open end and a closed end; introducing a semiconductor material inside the glass tube, wherein the semiconductor material comprises lead telluride, bismuth telluride, silicon germanium, zinc antimonide or zinc cadmium antimonide; evacuating the glass tube; heating a portion of the glass tube such that the glass partially melts forming a sealed glass tube; further heating the glass tube above the semiconductor material melting temperature such that the semiconductor material melts and the glass tube is heated enough for it to be drawn; drawing a first glass clad continuous semiconductor wire having a diameter of smaller than about 5 μm; providing a plurality of additional glass clad continuous semiconductor wires having diameter of smaller than about 5 μm; bunching the first glass clad continuous semiconductor wire and a plurality of a additional glass clad continuous semiconductor wires together to provide a plurality of bunched glass clad continuous semiconductor wires having a diameter of smaller than about 5 μm; drawing the bunched glass clad continuous semiconductor wires one or more times to produce a multi core cable having a plurality of continuous semiconductor wires that are insulated from each other by glass cladding; and forming at least a portion of the cable into a portion of a thermoelectric device, wherein the plurality of bunched glass clad wires comprises the plurality of glass clad continuous thermoelectric semiconductor material wires comprising lead telluride, bismuth telluride, silicon germanium, zinc antimonide or zinc cadmium antimonide.