An alternative approach for optimal carrier concentration towards ideal thermoelectric performance |
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| Authors: | Pankaj Kumar Rawat Biplab Paul P Banerji |
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| Institution: | 1. Materials Science Centre, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur 721302, India;2. Physics Department, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain |
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| Abstract: | Optimization of the carrier concentration of any thermoelectric material is a prime factor for the enhancement of the thermoelectric figure of merit. An alternative approach for achieving optimal carrier concentration is presented here. We introduce impurity levels of ytterbium (Yb) near the valence band edge of Pb1–xSnx Te. The temperature‐dependent redistribution of electrons between the Yb‐impurity levels and the valence band is found to optimize the excess hole concentration at low temperature and negating the effect of intrinsic conduction at higher temperature leading to significantly improved thermoelectric performance in Pb1–xSnx Te. (© 2012 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) |
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| Keywords: | thermoelectricity carrier concentration impurity levels power factor |
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