Patent ID: 8143510

Claim:
A thermal electric structure including a plurality of thermal electric junctions connected in series by electrically conductive busses, and terminals to apply an electrically current across the serially connected hybrid thermal electric junctions, each of said thermal electric junctions comprising: an elongated semiconductor of either N or P-type joined in an end-to-end relation between an elongated conductive material of the same type conductivity as said elongated semiconductor and one of said electrically conductive busses; a first semiconductor dice of a type different from said type of said elongated semiconductor in contact with said elongated conductive material opposite said elongated semiconductor for establishing a hybrid P-N junction for both high thermal flux and high electrical flux; and an elongated conduit of the same type conductivity as said first semiconductor dice connected for a high electrical flux return path and a low heat flux return path from said first semiconductor dice to a second semiconductor dice of the same conductivity as said first semiconductor dice, said second semiconductor dice joined to another of said electrically conductive busses.