Texture of bismuth telluride-based thermoelectric semiconductors processed by high-pressure torsion

P-type Bi₂Te₃-based thermoelectric semiconductors were prepared, having a grain-refined microstructure and a preferred orientation of anisotropic crystallographic structure. Disks with a nominal composition of Bi_0.5Sb_1.5Te_3.0 were cut from an ingot grown by the vertical Bridgman method (VBM) and deformed at 473 K under a pressure of 6.0 GPa by high-pressure torsion (HPT). The crystal orientation was characterized by X-ray diffraction. The microstructures were characterized using optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). It was found that the HPT disks had a fine and preferentially oriented grain compared to that of the VBM disks. Further, the power factor of the HPT disks was about twice as large as that of the VBM disks. These results indicate that HPT is effective in improving the thermoelectric properties of Bi₂Te₃-based thermoelectric semiconductors.