Abstract
Microstructure of polycrystalline Lead Telluride was controlled by the change of sintering conditions. Three properties which determine the thermoelectric figure of merit of the material were measured in the temperature range of 300-650K in order to investigate the effect of each sintering condition on the thermoelectric efficiency. Based on the observed experimental results, defect structure is concluded to be more important than microstructure though both can be controlled by processing variables.