Thermopower enhancement in Pb_(1−x)Mn_xTe alloys and its effect on thermoelectric efficiency
Abstract
The Seebeck coefficient of p-type PbTe can be enhanced at 300 K, either due to the addition of Tl-resonant states or by manipulation of the multiple valence bands by alloying with isovalent compounds, such as MgTe. PbTe alloyed with MnTe shows a similar thermopower enhancement that could be due to either mechanism. Here we investigate the characteristics that distinguish the resonant state mechanism from that due to multiple valence bands and their effect on the thermoelectric figure of merit, zT. Ultimately, we find that the transport properties of PbTe alloyed with MnTe can be explained by alloy scattering and multiple band model that result in a zT as high as 1.6 at 700 K, and additionally a ~30% enhancement of the average zT.
Additional Information
© 2012 Nature Japan K.K. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this license, visit http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/. Received 20 June 2012; revised 28 July 2012; accepted 16 August 2012. Published online 21 September 2012. This work is supported by NASA-JPL and DARPA Nano Materials Program. Y Pei would like to acknowledge the startup funding from Tongji University and state key discipline construction special fund. Optical measurements were performed at the Molecular Materials Research Center at Caltech.Attached Files
Published - am201252a.pdf
Files
| Name | Size | Download all |
|---|---|---|
|
md5:6dec3f0145b1b959e44d4cf8650006fa
|
678.3 kB | Preview Download |
Additional details
- Eprint ID
- 35268
- Resolver ID
- CaltechAUTHORS:20121102-131001179
- NASA/JPL
- DARPA Nano Materials Program
- Tongji University
- Created
-
2012-11-06Created from EPrint's datestamp field
- Updated
-
2021-11-09Created from EPrint's last_modified field