• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.280-284
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• 2012

Bismuth antimony telluride (BiSbTe) thermoelectric materials were successfully prepared by a spark plasma sintering process. Crystalline BiSbTe ingots were crushed into small pieces and then attrition milled into fine powders of about 300 nm ~ 2${\mu}m$ size under argon gas. Spark plasma sintering was applied on the BiSbTe powders at 240, 320, and $380^{\circ}C$, respectively, under a pressure of 40 MPa in vacuum. The heating rate was $50^{\circ}C$/min and the holding time at the sintering temperature was 10 min. At all sintering temperatures, high density bulk BiSbTe was successfully obtained. The XRD patterns verify that all samples were well matched with the $Bi_{0.5}Sb_{1.5}Te_{3}$. Seebeck coefficient (S), electric conductivity (${\sigma}$) and thermal conductivity (k) were evaluated in a temperature range of $25{\sim}300^{\circ}C$. The thermoelectric properties of BiSbTe were evaluated by the thermoelectric figure of merit, ZT (ZT = $S^2{\sigma}T$/k). The grain size and electric conductivity of sintered BiSbTe increased as the sintering temperature increased but the thermal conductivity was similar at all sintering temperatures. Grain growth reduced the carrier concentration, because grain growth reduced the grain boundaries, which serve as acceptors. Meanwhile, the carrier mobility was greatly increased and the electric conductivity was also improved. Consequentially, the grains grew with increasing sintering temperature and the figure of merit was improved.

• Electrical & Electronic Materials
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• v.24 no.7
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• pp.10-17
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• 2011

현재 개발 중인 Chalcogenide계 열전재료 중에서, 이방성 재료인 Thallium chalcogenide, Alkalimetal bismuth chalcogenide, Bismuth telluride와 등방성 재료인 Lead telluride, Silver antimony telluride, TAGS, LAST 및 SALT를 소개하였고, 이 재료들에 대한 연구 동향을 살펴보았다. Chalcogenide는 S, Se, Te 및 다른 원소와의 다양한 조합에 의해, 넓은 온도범위에서 열전재료로 응용하기 위한 밴드갭 에너지의 조절이 가능하다. 또한 합성공정에 따른 상변태, 석출 등 구조변화에 따른 열전특성의 변화를 기대할 수 있어 열전재료 개발 초기부터 활발한 연구가 진행되어 왔다. 과거의 전통적인 Chalcogenide계 열전재료뿐만 아니라, Chalcogenide계 열전 신소재에 대해서도 살펴보았다. Chalcogenide는 전자적, 광학적, 열적 성질 등 특성이 독특하고 변화가 무궁무진하여 아주 매력적이기 때문에, 앞으로도 계속 열전재료로서 각광받는 물질군으로 판단된다. 그림 11에 현재까지 ZT의 최댓값이 1이 넘는다고 보고된 열전재료의 성능지수를 요약하였다.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2008.11a
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• pp.425-425
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• 2008

Bismuth-antimony-telluride based thermoelectric thin film materials were prepared by metal organic vapor phase deposition using trimethylbismuth, triethylantimony and diisopropyltelluride as metal organic sources. A planar type thermoelectric device has been fabricated using p-type $Bi_{0.4}Sb_{1.6}Te_3$ and n-type $Bi_2Te_3$ thin films. Firstly, the p-type thermoelectric element was patterned after growth of $4{\mu}m$ thickness of $Bi_{0.4}Sb_{1.6}Te_3$ layer. Again n-type $Bi_2Te_3$ film was grown onto the patterned p-type thermoelectric film and n-type strips are formed by using selective chemical etchant for $Bi_2Te_3$. The top electrical connector was formed by thermally deposited metal film. The generator consists of 20 pairs of p- and n-type legs. We demonstrate complex structures of different conduction types of thermoelectric element on same substrate by two separate runs of MOCVD with etch-stop layer and selective etchant for n-type thermoelectric material. Device performance was evaluated on a number of thermoelectric devices. To demonstrate power generation, one side of the device was heated by heating block and the voltage output was measured. The highest estimated power of 1.3mW is obtained at the temperature difference of 45K. We provide a promising approach for fabricating thin film thermoelectric generators by using MOCVD grown thermoelectric materials which can employ nanostructures for high thermoelectric properties.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.443-447
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• 2009

Bismuth-antimony-telluride based thermoelectric thin film materials were prepared by metal organic vapor phase deposition using trimethylbismuth, triethylantimony and diisopropyltelluride as metal organic sources. A planar type thermoelectric device has been fabricated using p-type $Bi_{0.4}Sb_{1.6}Te_3$ and n-type $Bi_{2}Te_{3}$ thin films. Firstly, the p-type thermoelectric element was patterned after growth of $5{\mu}m$ thickness of $Bi_{0.4}Sb_{1.6}Te_3$ layer. Again n-type $Bi_{2}Te_{3}$ film was grown onto the patterned p-type thermoelectric film and n-type strips are formed by using selective chemical etchant for $Bi_{2}Te_{3}$. The top electrical connector was formed by thermally deposited metal film. The generator consists of 20 pairs of p- and n-type legs. We demonstrate complex structures of different conduction types of thermoelectric element on same substrate by two separate runs of MOCVD with etch-stop layer and selective etchant for n-type thermoelectric material. Device performance was evaluated on a number of thermoelectric devices. To demonstrate power generation, one side of the device was heated by heating block and the voltage output was measured. The highest estimated power of 1.3 ${\mu}m$ is obtained at the temperature difference of 45 K.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.54 no.6
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• pp.518-524
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• 2017

A flexible thermoelectric device using body heat has drawn attention as a power source for wearable devices. In this study, thermoelectric thick films were fabricated by cold pressing method using p-type antimony telluride and n-type bismuth telluride powders in accordance with specific loads. Thermoelectric thick films were denser and improved the electrical and thermoelectric properties while increasing the load of the cold pressing. The thickness of the specimen can be controlled by the amount of material; specimens were approximately 700 um in thickness. Flexible thermoelectric devices were manufactured by using the thermoelectric thick films on PI (Polyimide) substrate. The process is cheap, efficient, easy and scalable. Evaluation of power generation performance and flexibility on the fabricated flexible thermoelectric device was carried out. The flexible thermoelectric device has great flexibility and good performance and can be applied to wearable electronics as a power source.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.352-358
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• 2008

The present study focused on the synthesis of a bismuth-antimony-tellurium-based thermoelectric nanopowders using plasma arc discharge process. The chemical composition, phase structure, particle size of the synthesized powders under various synthesis conditions were analyzed using XRF, XRD and SEM. The powders as synthesized were sintered by the plasma activated sintering. The thermoelectric properties of sintered body were analyzed by measuring Seebeck coefficient, specific electric resistivity and thermal conductivity. The chemical composition of the synthesized Bi-Sb-Te-based powders approached that of the raw material with an increasing DC current of the are plasma. The synthesized Bi-Sb-Te-based powder consist of a mixed phase structure of the $Bi_{0.5}Sb_{1.5}Te_{3}$, $Bi_{2}Te_{3}$ and $Sb_{2}Te_{3}$ phases. This powder has homogeneous mixing state of two different particles in an average particle size; about 100nm and about 500nm. The figure of merit of the sintered body of the synthesized 18.75 wt.%Bi-24.68 wt.%Sb-56.57 wt.%Te nanopowder showed higher value than one of the sintered body of the mechanically milled 12.64 wt.%Bi-29.47 wt.%Sb-57.89 wt.%Te powder.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.33-38
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• 2011

The p-type $(Bi_{0.2}Sb_{0.8})_2Te_3$ powers were fabricated by mechanical alloying and hot-pressed at temperatures of $350{\sim}550^{\circ}C$. Themoelectric properties of the hot-pressed $(Bi_{0.2}Sb_{0.8})_2Te_3$ were characterized as a function of the hot-pressing temperature. With increasing the hot-pressing temperature from $350^{\circ}C$ to $550^{\circ}C$, the Seebeck coefficient and the electrical resistivity decreased from 237 ${\mu}V/K$ to 210 ${\mu}V/K$ and 2.25 $m{\Omega}-cm$ to 1.34 $m{\Omega}-cm$, respectively. The power factor of the hot-pressed $(Bi_{0.2}Sb_{0.8})_2Te_3$ became larger from $24.95{\times}10^{-4}W/m-K^2$ to $32.85{\times}10^{-4}W/m-K^2$ with increasing the hot-pressing temperature from $350^{\circ}C$ to $550^{\circ}C$. Among the specimens hot-pressed at $350{\sim}550^{\circ}C$, the $(Bi_{0.2}Sb_{0.8})_2Te_3$ hot-pressed at $500^{\circ}C$ exhibited the maximum dimensionless figure-of-merit of 1.09 at $25^{\circ}C$ and 1.2 at $75^{\circ}C$.