Thermocouples

Abstract

A thermocouple disposed on a substrate comprises a first leg of thermoelectric material, a second leg of thermoelectric material, and a thermocouple junction electrically connecting the first leg and the second leg, wherein a height of the thermocouple junction is substantially a height of the first or second legs.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below in more detail, with reference to the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a thermocouple;

FIG. 2 is a Gaussian graph of line shapes with side-by-side overlap according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a diagram of a low profile thermocouple according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4A is a diagram of a gradient junction low profile thermocouple according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4B is a diagram of the gradient junction low profile thermocouple of FIG. 3A along line II-II′;

FIG. 5 is a diagram of a three terminal thermocouple according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 6 is a graph of a voltage-temperature plot according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. A thermocouple disposed on a substrate comprising: a first leg of thermoelectric material;a second leg of thermoelectric material; anda thermocouple junction electrically connecting the first leg and the second leg, wherein a height of the thermocouple junction is substantially a height of the first or second legs.

2. The thermocouple of claim 1, wherein the thermocouple is embedded in an insulating layer.

3. The thermocouple of claim 1, wherein the thermocouple is embedded in a thermal barrier coating.

4. The thermocouple of claim 1, wherein the thermocouple junction region is comprised of segments the first and second legs arranged to be substantially parallel and overlapping for electrical contact.

5. The thermocouple of claim 4, wherein the segments of the first and second legs are separated by a distance equal to a full width at half maximum of the segments.

6. The thermocouple of claim 1, wherein the thermocouple junction is graded between the first and second legs.

7. The thermocouple of claim 1, wherein at least one of the first and second legs is formed of a metallic bond coat.

8. A thermocouple wherein a thermocouple junction is formed by continuously varying a composition of a line over a portion of the line, forming a graded junction with substantially a height of a conducting line electrically coupled at the thermocouple junction.

9. The thermocouple of claim 8, wherein the thermocouple is deposited into a groove such that a top surface of the thermocouple junction and the conducting line are substantially level with a surface of a substrate.

10. A thermocouple comprising: at least first and second thermocouple legs each having an alloy composition; anda plurality of isothermal contact pads for electrically coupling the at least first and second thermocouple legs to collect a signal.

11. The thermocouple of claim 10, further comprising a plurality of connecting wires electrically coupled to the plurality of isothermal contact pads, respectively.

12. The thermocouple of claim 11, wherein the plurality of connecting wires are electrically coupled to the respective isothermal contact pads to form a thermocouple junction at the isothermal contact pads.

13. The thermocouple of claim 11, wherein the first and second thermocouple legs are formed of alloy compositions of Ni20Cr and Ni5Al, respectively, the thermocouple further comprising a plurality of type K connecting lines formed of one of Chromel and Alumel, such that a first Chromel connecting line is electrically coupled to the isothermal contact pad of the first thermocouple legs and an Alumel connecting line and a second Chromel connecting line are electrically coupled to the isothermal contact pad of the second thermocouple leg.

14. The thermocouple of claim 11, wherein the first and second thermocouple legs are formed of alloy composition of Ni20Cr and Ni5Al, respectively, the thermocouple further comprising a plurality of type K connecting line formed of one of Chromel and Alumel, such that a first Alumel connecting line and a Chromel connecting line are electrically coupled to the isothermal contact pad of the first thermocouple leg and a second Alumel connecting line is electrically coupled to the isothermal contact pad of the second thermocouple leg.

15. The thermocouple of claim 10, wherein the alloy compositions are one of NiCrY and NiAlY.