Journal
APPLIED PHYSICS LETTERS
Volume 93, Issue 19, Pages -Publisher
AMER INST PHYSICS
DOI: 10.1063/1.3027060
Keywords
Ge-Si alloys; grain boundaries; hot pressing; nanoparticles; nanotechnology; phonons; semiconductor growth; semiconductor materials; thermal conductivity; thermoelectricity
Categories
Funding
- NASA [NNC06GA48G]
- DOE [DE-FG0200ER45805, DE-FG0202ER45977]
- NSF [NIRT 0506830, CMMI 0833084]
- Div Of Civil, Mechanical, & Manufact Inn
- Directorate For Engineering [0833084] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
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The dimensionless thermoelectric figure of merit (ZT) of the n-type silicon germanium (SiGe) bulk alloy at high temperature has remained at about one for a few decades. Here we report that by using a nanostructure approach, a peak ZT of about 1.3 at 900 degrees C in an n-type nanostructured SiGe bulk alloy has been achieved. The enhancement of ZT comes mainly from a significant reduction in the thermal conductivity caused by the enhanced phonon scattering off the increased density of nanograin boundaries. The enhanced ZT will make such materials attractive in many applications such as solar, thermal, and waste heat conversion into electricity.
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