Yuji Ohishi

Chalcopyrite CuGaTe2: A High‐Efficiency Bulk Thermoelectric Material

CuGaTe(2) with a chalcopyrite structure demonstrates promising thermoelectric properties. The maximum figure of merit ZT is 1.4 at 950 K. CuGaTe(2) and related chalcopyrites are a new class of high-efficiency bulk thermoelectric material for high-temperature applications.

Thermoelectric properties of Ag1−xGaTe2 with chalcopyrite structure

In the present study, we investigated the high-temperature thermoelectric (TE) properties of AgGaTe2 with chalcopyrite structure. We tried to enhance the TE properties of AgGaTe2 by reducing the Ag content. The reduction of Ag increased the carrier concentration, leading to enhancement of the dimensionless figure of merit (ZT). The maximum ZT value was 0.77 at 850 K obtained in Ag0.95GaTe2, which was approximately two times higher than that of stoichiometric AgGaTe2.

Thermoelectric properties of Ga-added CoSb3 based skutterudites

Filled skutterudite compounds are known as excellent thermoelectric (TE) materials. It is known that the voids in the structure of the skutterudite compounds, such as CoSb3, can be filled or partially filled with a variety of different atoms, and, thus, obtained filled skutterudite compounds exhibit quite low thermal conductivity (κ). In the present study, we tried to fill Ga into the voids of CoSb3. The polycrystalline samples of GaxCo4Sb12 (x = 0.05, 0.10, 0.15, 0.20, 0.25, and 0.30) were prepared, and the TE properties were examined from room temperature to 750 K. All the samples were composed of two phases: GaxCo4Sb12 (x = ∼0.02) as the matrix phase and Ga metal as the second phase. All the samples exhibited negative values of the Seebeck coefficient (S). The Hall carrier concentration slightly increased with increasing x, while the carrier mobility decreased. Although the maximum Ga filling ratio was really low, the κ was reduced effectively by Ga adding. The maximum value of the dimensionless figure...

High-temperature thermoelectric properties of Cu2Ga4Te7 with defect zinc-blende structure

Here we show the high-temperature thermoelectric (TE) properties of Cu2Ga4Te7 with the defect zinc-blende structure in which one-seventh of the cation sites are structural vacancies. Cu2Ga4Te7 exhibited relatively low electrical resistivity (ρ) and thermal conductivity (κ) and moderate positive Seebeck coefficient (S) at high temperatures, making this compound a promising high-performance p-type TE material. At 940 K, the S, ρ, and κ were +215 μV K−1, 10.1×10−5 Ω m, and 0.67 Wm−1 K−1, respectively, which resulted in the maximum dimensionless figure of merit ZT (=S2T/ρ/κ, where T is the absolute temperature) of 0.64.

Heavily doped silicon and nickel silicide nanocrystal composite films with enhanced thermoelectric efficiency

In this study, we have developed highly efficient thermoelectric materials based on p-type and n-type composite films of Si nanocrystals and Ni silicide nanocrystals. The heavy doping of the films with boron or phosphorus and thermal annealing of the films caused formation of nanocrystals with high electrical conductivities, low thermal conductivities, and high Seebeck coefficients, consequently leading to the high dimensionless figures of merit (ZT). For the p-type (B-doped) and n-type (p-doped) films, ZT is 0.13 and 0.06, respectively, which were much higher than that of bulk Si (<0.01) at RT and nanostructured bulk Si.

Enhancement of thermoelectric properties of CoSb3-based skutterudites by double filling of Tl and In

Thermoelectric (TE) generators can directly generate electrical power from waste heat, and thus could be an important part of the solution to future power supply and sustainable energy management. The main obstacle to the widespread use of TE materials in diverse industries, e.g., for exhaust heat recovery in automobiles, is their low efficiency in converting heat to electricity. The conversion efficiency of TE materials is quantified by the dimensionless figure of merit, ZT, and the way to enhance ZT is to decrease the lattice thermal conductivity (κlat) of the material, while maintaining a high electrical conductivity, i.e., to create a situation in which phonons are scattered but electrons are unaffected. Here, we report skutterudites filled by Tl and In, Tl0.1InxCo4Sb12, which allow a dramatic reduction of κlat, yielding a ZT of 1.2 at 700 K. We demonstrate that the reduction of κlat is due to the effective phonon scattering induced both by the rattling of Tl and In and by the naturally formed In2O3 n...

High Temperature Thermoelectric Properties of Half-Heusler Compound PtYSb

Recent experimental examination of the thermoelectric properties of the half Heusler compound PtYSb has revealed that PtYSb has a relatively high thermoelectric figure of merit (ZT) of 0.2 at around room temperature. However, the thermoelectric properties have been examined only in the low-temperature region, and no high-temperature data has been reported to date. Here we present the high-temperature thermoelectric properties of polycrystalline bulk samples of PtYSb in the temperature range between room temperature and 973 K. The Seebeck coefficient was positive over the entire temperature range examined. A high power factor (2.1×10-3 W m-1 K-2) and low thermal conductivity (3.44 W m-1 K-1) were obtained at 973 K, which resulted in a relatively high ZT of 0.57 for PtYSb. Thus, PtYSb has the potential for application as a p-type thermoelectric material at high temperature.

Thermoelectric properties of heavily boron- and phosphorus-doped silicon

In recent years, nanostructured thermoelectric materials have attracted much attention. However, despite this increasing attention, available information on the thermoelectric properties of single-crystal Si is quite limited, especially for high doping concentrations at high temperatures. In this study, the thermoelectric properties of heavily doped (1018–1020 cm−3) n- and p-type single-crystal Si were studied from room temperature to above 1000 K. The figures of merit, ZT, were calculated from the measured data of electrical conductivity, Seebeck coefficient, and thermal conductivity. The maximum ZT values were 0.015 for n-type and 0.008 for p-type Si at room temperature. To better understand the carrier and phonon transport and to predict the thermoelectric properties of Si, we have developed a simple theoretical model based on the Boltzmann transport equation with the relaxation-time approximation.

How thermoelectric properties of p-type Tl-filled skutterudites are improved

The high-temperature thermoelectric properties of p-type Tl-filled skutterudites TlxFe1Co3Sb12 (x = 0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, and 0.8) were examined. While samples with x ≤ 0.4 were single-phase Tl-filled skutterudite, samples with x = 0.6 and 0.8 were composed of two phases: TlxFe1Co3Sb12 (x ≈ 0.4) as the matrix phase and a Tl-Fe-Sb ternary alloy. The thermal conductivity (κ) was reduced effectively by Tl addition, but the secondary phase increased κ slightly. The maximum value of the dimensionless figure of merit ZT (=S2T/ρ/κ, where T is the absolute temperature) was 0.36 at 723 K for Tl0.2Fe1Co3Sb12.

Carrier and heat transport properties of polycrystalline GeSn films on SiO2

We evaluated the potential of polycrystalline (poly-) GeSn as channel material for the fabrication of thin film transistors (TFTs) at a low thermal budget (<600 °C). Poly-GeSn films with a grain size of ∼50 nm showed a carrier mobility of ∼30 cm2 V−1 s−1 after low-temperature annealing at 475–500 °C. Not only carrier mobility but also thermal conductivity of the films is important in assessing the self-heating effect of the poly-GeSn channel TFT. The thermal conductivity of the poly-GeSn films is 5–9 W m−1 K−1, which is significantly lower compared with 30–60 W m−1 K−1 of bulk Ge; this difference results from phonon scattering at grain boundaries and Sn interstitials. The poly-GeSn films have higher carrier mobility and thermal conductivity than poly-Ge films annealed at 600 °C, because of the improved crystal quality and coarsened grain size resulting from Sn-induced crystallization. Therefore, the poly-GeSn film is well-suited as channel material for TFTs, fabricated with a low thermal budget.