Thermoelectric properties of Zn-doped In0.95Ga0.05Sb crystals grown by directional solidification

Thermoelectric devices require p-type and n-type semiconductors with similar chemical, mechanical and thermoelectric properties to achieve maximum efficiency. To match with n-type In0.95Ga0.05Sb crystals for the fabrication of thermoelectric device, zinc (Zn) element was doped with In0.95Ga0.05Sb crystal intentionally to change its conductivity from n-type to p-type and its thermoelectric properties were studied. The Zn-doped In0.95Ga0.05Sb crystals grown by directional solidification were free from micro-cracks and their composition was distributed homogeneously. The carrier concentration was increased upon doping with Zn element. The resistivity of Zn-doped In0.95Ga0.05Sb increased with increasing temperature that showed degenerate semiconducting characteristics resulted from heavy doping. The Peierls distortion resulting from Sb-Sb interaction was observed in Zn-doped In0.95Ga0.05Sb crystals. The higher electron contribution and lower phonon contribution to total thermal conductivity were obtained in Zn-doped In0.95Ga0.05Sb than undoped crystals. The maximum ZT of 0.24 at 573 K was achieved by Zn-doped In0.95Ga0.05Sb with dopant concentration 1 x 10(20) atoms/cm(3). The ZT achieved is the highest among other reported values of p-type III-V semiconductors.

Automated summary

To achieve maximum efficiency, thermoelectric devices require p-type and n-type semiconductors with similar chemical, mechanical, and thermoelectric properties. In this study, zinc (Zn) element was intentionally doped with In0.95Ga0.05Sb crystal to change its conductivity from n-type to p-type. The Zn-doped In0.95Ga0.05Sb crystals exhibited increased carrier concentration and degenerate semiconducting characteristics. The maximum achieved ZT value of 0.24 at 573 K by Zn-doped In0.95Ga0.05Sb with dopant concentration 1 x 10(20) atoms/cm(3) is the highest among reported values of p-type III-V semiconductors.