ADDITIONAL WORK IN THE POWER SOURCES AREA

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP78-03424A001100020016-2
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 6
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 15, 2011
• Sequence Number: 16
• Publication Date: April 15, 1958
• Content Type: LETTER

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25X1
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~NFIDENTIAL Contrac inistration
r"''~25X1
Subject: ~dd3#iwa~.,,, T~ork in the
Power Sources rem '"~`~"~"
Reference: Contract No, RD-107
Task No. 6
~~ Req'n. EH-78020
Pursuant to our discussions at your offices on March 23, 1958,
we herewith submit a proposal to perform work which would lead to
the delivery of a lead telluride Thermoelectric Generator. This
work could be made an addition to Task No. 6, or issued as a new
task.
Lead telluride offers several important advantages over the
constantan metallic component used earlier in Task No. 6, among
them being:
1. Stability at the required temperatures.
2. Ease of preparation.
3. Compatibility with bonding alloys.
This proposal is predicated upon receiving authority to pro-
ceed with the work described in the attached technical proposal, by
~y 5, 1958.
The total estimated selling price for this work, on a CPFF
basis, is $76,2+0.25. Attachment "A " furnishes a breakdown of the
selling price.
Should any further information be required, please call on me.
Very ~ ruly rs,
FG~rmk
Attachments
CC:
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AT~ACFIME~~`A?~ ~~~
PRICE BREAKDOWN
ADDITIONAL WORK POWER SOURCES
COST PLUS A FIXED FEE BASIS
Material
Salaries & 4lages
Engineers
120 M.W.
Draftsmen
2 M.W.
Shop Labor
6 M.W.
~ 800.00
23,361.00
339.00
827.00
Engineering 165/0 40,470.00
Other Direct Charges
Reports
Sub Total
G & A Expense 6~
Total
Fixed Fee
SELLING PRICE
$66,597.00
3,995.82
$70,592.82
5,647.43
$76,240.25
FG~rmk
4/l5/58
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7'{,~ Tasks delineated under the present cv,~tzact ;.~i~iude the
studv ;end fabrication of thermocouple elements incorporating a p-tyPe
semiconductor and constantan. In additions it calls for a prototype
9?frying pan" thermoelectric generator employing several of these elements
in series. This portion of the study has been successfully completed
and demonstrated to the sponsor.
Our. experience in carrying out the raork mentioned above
indicates that the next problem to be solved is the study and substitution
of a n-type semiconductor element for the
constantan metallic component,
In the present generator preliminary investigations indicate that lead
telluride elements will have the greatest probability of success. Tile
decision to use lead telluride:. is based not only upon its figure of
merits but also upon its stability at the temperatures involved {3;~:?C~s
its relative ease of preparations and its compatibility with bonding
alloys which have been employed in development of the first thermoelctric
generator.
It must be pointed out that in the development of this material
we will expect to encounter some of the difficulties encountered with
zinc antimonide under the current contract< Zinc antimonides a p-type
semiconductors tends to remain p-type even in the. presence or oxygen
On the other hands n-type lead telluride in the presence of oxygen has
a tendency to increase hole conductivity and therefore tends toward
p-type conduction. The risk of encountering oxidation problems is some-
what diminished by the hermetic seal evolved for the model delivered
under the present contract> In this devices Argon at low pressure
surrounds the active. elements of the generator.
"R'hen separated fro~o enclosures, handle this.
document as L1;('j,.',r;?;;'il?I)"
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Care must be taken in the formation and propex doping of lead
tellurideo Tellurium and lead of highest availaable purity gill be allot3ed
to react under controlled conditions of atmosphere9 pressure and tempera-
turey taking into account thcs incorporation of the proper amount of excess
lead to assure n-type propertieso It is hoped that as the result of this
processy large single crystals of properly doped Lead telluride mill
result<
The process of bonding lead telluride to the contact metal gill
be studied from the standpoint of producing mechanically strong bonds
whose electrical and thermal resistances are low. The diffusion of such
bonding material into the bulk of the lead telluride must not result in
the diminution of the desirable electrical and thermal properties. From
experience obtained to date, ~e can use the bonding agents which mill
give the best overall performance.
Since lead telluride has a different thermal conductivity than
the constantany a slight redesign of the thermocouple elements and the
eventual "-frying pang may be necessary to optimize the efficiency. It
is expected that the output of the finished device employing the same
number of couples should be increased by a factor someFahere bet~aen 1,
and 2e
To accomplish this tasks ~e propose to utilize our bcsst efforts
in the ?ollo~ing sequence:
to Preparation of stoichiometric lead telluride from the
purest available lead and t~lluriume
20 Doping of the pure lead telluride with appropriate types
and amounts of impuritieso
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dornttirnt ac j't~rf~T ~ orfl?jl'j)'>
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3. Development of techniques for casting of mechanically
stable ingots from r~hich thermocouple elements can be prepared,
4a Investigations of bonding of conductors to lead
Concurrent with the above steps, make the appropriate
electrical and thermal m~~t~urements including reproducibility of per-
formance among saanples .
6. Construct a Q9frying pang generator with 20 couples.
Test for performance and stability as time p~a~its.
~Te propose that this phase of the work would extend from
approximately gay 59 1958 and continue until December 319 1958? The
following block diagram represents the expected flow of work during
the period, The very nature of this project demands that there be
overlap and feedback from one type of development with respect to the
other,
G~R1~R~TOR
ASS~LY
A~1D TEST
TH~EtP~[aCOUPLg DEV1~L01'E'~FIT
_7IiR1C7C'7CQA1 Aa01VT ~
L
P~PA~ATIOPI
5
R9ay
6 7 g g l0 11 12/31/58
,Tune July August Sept. October Plovember December
"men separated from enclosures, handle thfs
doenment as L'NC~I,dS~II'it+,D"
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