Some experimental results on electrical Ni/Cr contacts on thermoconductive materials

Some Cr, Ni films have been deposited by RF (1.78 MHz) magnetron sputtering onto thermoelectric materials substrates at low temperatures (<100°C). We have found good adherence values (>100 kgf/cm²) onto n and p type substrates. Peltier devices prepared from these wafers and tested using the standard procedure (Melcor Corp.) demonstrated good values of various electrical parameters, similar with those obtained using classical contacts. This research proved the possibility of producing good quality Peltier devices using Ni/Cr electrical contacts obtained by a large scale and versatile deposition method.