Preparation of p- and n-Type Si-Ge Powders for Thermoelectric Element by a Gas-Atomizing Method

Abstract

A thermoelectric element is produced by the joining of p- and n-type semiconducting materials. Both types of Si_0.8Ge_0.2 powders were prepared with boron or phosphorous added as a dopant into a mixture of Si and Ge by a gas-atomizing method, and then, the dense bodies were formed from these two types of Si-Ge powders by pulse-current sintering separately. The thermoelectric properties; i.e. thermal conductivity, resistivity and Seebeck coefficient of the dense bodies were determined at a temperature from room temperature to 1073 K, followed by the evaluation of the power factor and figure of merit. The effect of ball-milling on sinterability and thermoelectricity of these powders was further discussed