A study for thermoelectric properties of Ni doped SiC sintered thermoelectric semiconductor

The thermoelectric properties of the p-type SiC:Ni sintered thermoelectric semiconductor have been studied as functions of Ni concentration (from 0.5 wt.96 to 5.0 wt.95) and temperature (from RT to 700°C). The electrical resistivity decreases drastically for all the Ni concentration range compared with other dopants such as Cu, Al and B at room temperature. The electrical resistivity and thermoelectric power decrease with increasing temperature. The value of the figure of merit Z approaches 1.4×10^-4 at around 700°C. The condition of the doped impurity atom Ni has also been studied magnetically. It is confirmed that Ni does not segregate in the SiC sintered sample. We conclude that Ni is well diffused into SiC and it is one of the most effective dopants for SiC-based thermoelectric materials