Preparation and thermoelectric properties of AgSbTe2

Melt-grown and sintered materials of AgSbTe₂ were prepared by Bridgman method and plasma-activated sintering, respectively. In case of low growth rate of 10 mm/d, the ingot was coarse-grain polycrystal and the EPMA maps showed a 80% uniformity along the growth axis, while high growth rate of 10 mm/h caused non-uniformity with Ag₂Te precipitation in a whole ingot. The thermoelectric properties were characterized by high carrier concentration in the order of magnitude of 10²⁵ m^-3 and low mobility of 10 ^-3 m² V^-1 s^-1. The microstructures of the sintered materials reflected whether their powder source materials were obtained from the ingot with or without Ag₂ Te-precipitation