Thermoelectric properties and figure of merit of a Te-doped InSb bulk single crystal

We studied the temperature dependence of the thermoelectric properties of a Te-doped InSb bulk single crystal. The temperature was in the range from 10 to 723 K. We analyzed the scattering mechanisms throughout the whole temperature range and found that above 50 K, scattering by polar optical phonons was dominant. The maximum value of the dimensionless figure of merit was 0.6 at 673 K. The load characteristics of the sample were an open output voltage of 28 mV and a maximum output power of 216 mu W at a temperature difference of 195 K. (C) 2005 American Institute of Physics.