Title :
Thermoelectric properties of Yb-filled and Sn-compensated skutterudites
Author :
Yang, Jihui ; Meisner, Gregory P. ; Chen, Wei ; Dyck, Jeffrey S. ; Uher, Ctirad
Author_Institution :
Mater. & Processes Lab., Gen. Motors R&D Center, Warren, MI, USA
Abstract :
The effect of alloying tin on the antimony site of ytterbium-filled skutterudites is examined. We performed measurements of Hall effect, electrical resistivity, Seebeck coefficient and thermal conductivity on the series Yb0.5Co4Sb12-x Snx, with x=0.5, 0.6, 0.8 and 0.83. We find that the substitution of tin does not alter the position of the Fermi level with respect to the conduction band of these heavily doped semiconducting samples, but rather it gives rise to a p-type band. Experimental data for x=0.83 can be understood in the context of a two-carrier electrical conduction. Thermal conductivity of these ytterbium-filled skutterudites is significantly suppressed with respect to the unfilled cobalt tri-antimonide
Keywords :
Fermi level; Hall effect; Seebeck effect; cobalt compounds; conduction bands; electrical resistivity; heavily doped semiconductors; thermal conductivity; tin compounds; ytterbium compounds; Fermi level; Hall effect; Seebeck coefficient; Yb-filled and Sn-compensated skutterudites; Yb0.5Co4Sb12Sn; antimony site; conduction band; electrical resistivity; heavily doped semiconductors; p-type band; thermal conductivity; thermoelectric properties; tin alloying effect; tin substitution; two-carrier electrical conduction; ytterbium-filled skutterudites; Alloying; Conductivity measurement; Electric resistance; Electric variables measurement; Hall effect; Performance evaluation; Thermal conductivity; Thermal resistance; Thermoelectricity; Tin;
Conference_Titel :
Thermoelectrics, 2001. Proceedings ICT 2001. XX International Conference on
Conference_Location :
Beijing
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-7205-0
DOI :
10.1109/ICT.2001.979825
