ABSTRACT
The band structure of PbTe can be manipulated by alloying with MgTe to control the band degeneracy. This is used to stabilize the optimal carrier concentration, making it less temperature dependent, demonstrating a new strategy to improve overall thermoelectric efficiency over a broad temperature range.
Subject(s)
Alloys/chemistry , Conservation of Natural Resources/methods , Lead/chemistry , Tellurium/chemistry , Electric Conductivity , Magnesium/chemistry , Microscopy, Electron, Scanning , Nanostructures/chemistry , Nanostructures/ultrastructure , Surface Properties , Temperature , Thermal Conductivity , X-Ray DiffractionABSTRACT
A high temperature Seebeck coefficient measurement apparatus with various features to minimize typical sources of error is designed and built. Common sources of temperature and voltage measurement error are described and principles to overcome these are proposed. With these guiding principles, a high temperature Seebeck measurement apparatus with a uniaxial 4-point contact geometry is designed to operate from room temperature to over 1200 K. This instrument design is simple to operate, and suitable for bulk samples with a broad range of physical types and shapes.
