• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2008.02a
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• pp.134-134
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• 2008

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.27 no.9
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• pp.561-565
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• 2014

Thermoelectric materials have been the topic of intensive research due to their unique dual capability of directly converting heat into electricity or electrical power into cooling or heating. Bismuth telluride ($Bi_2Te_3$) is the best-known commercially used thermoelectric material in the bulk form for cooling and power generation applications In this work we focus on the large scale synthesis of nanostructured undoped bulk nanostructured $Bi_2Te_3$ materials by employing a novel bottom-up solution-based chemical approach. Spark plasma sintering has been employed for compaction and sintering of $Bi_2Te_3$ nanopowders, resulting in relative density of $g{\cdot}cm^{-3}$ while preserving the nanostructure. The average grain size of the final compacts was obtained as 200 nm after sintering. An improved NS bulk undoped $Bi_2Te_3$ is achieved with sintered at $400^{\circ}C$ for 4 min holding time.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.21 no.12
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• pp.1135-1140
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• 2008

Bismuth-telluride based thin film materials are grown by Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition(MOCVD). 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 sample was heated by heating block and the voltage output measured. As expected for a thermoelectric generator, the voltage decreases linearly, while the power output rises to a maximum. The highest estimated power of $1.3{\mu}W$ is obtained for the temperature difference of 45 K. we provide a promising procedure for fabricating thin film thermoelectric generators by using MOCVD grown thermoelectric materials which may have nanostructure with high thermoelectric properties.

• 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 Powder Materials
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.263-269
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• 2016

Graphene oxide (GO) powder processed by Hummer's method is mixed with p-type $Bi_2Te_3$ based thermoelectric materials by a high-energy ball milling process. The synthesized GO-dispersed p-type $Bi_2Te_3$ composite powder has a composition of $Bi_{0.5}Sb_{1.5}Te_3$ (BSbT), and the powder is consolidated into composites with different contents of GO powder by using the spark plasma sintering (SPS) process. It is found that the addition of GO powder significantly decreases the thermal conductivity of the pure BSbT material through active phonon scattering at the newly formed interfaces. In addition, the electrical properties of the GO/BSbT composites are degraded by the addition of GO powder except in the case of the 0.1 wt% GO/BSbT composite. It is found that defects on the surface of GO powder hinder the electrical transport properties. As a result, the maximum thermoelectric performance (ZT value of 0.91) is achieved from the 0.1% GO/BSbT composite at 398 K. These results indicate that introducing GO powder into thermoelectric materials is a promising method to achieve enhanced thermoelectric performance due to the reduction in thermal conductivity.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.340-344
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• 2011

Thermoelectric bismuth telluride ($Bi_2Te_3$) films were deposited on $4^{\circ}$ off oriented (001) GaAs substrates using a modified metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) system. The effects of substrate temperature on surface morphologies, crystallinity, electrical properties and thermoelctric properties were investigated. Two dimensional growth mode (2D) was observed at substrate temperature lower than $400^{\circ}C$. However, three dimensional growth mode (3D) was observed at substrate temperature higher than $400^{\circ}C$. Change of growth mechanism from 2D to 3D was confirmed with environmental scanning electron microscope (E-SEM) and X-ray diffraction analysis. Seebeck coefficients of all samples have negative values. This result indicates that $Bi_2Te_3$ films grown by modified MOCVD are n-type. The maximum value of Seebeck coefficient was -225 ${\mu}V/K$ and the power factor was $1.86{\times}10^{-3}\;W/mK^2$ at the substrate temperature of $400^{\circ}C$. $Bi_2Te_3$ films deposited using modified MOCVD can be used to fabricate high-performance thermoelectric devices.

• 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.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.33 no.12
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• pp.3977-3980
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• 2012

Nanostructured thermoelectric bismuth telluride ($Bi_2Te_3$) powders with various morphologies, such as nanoplates, nanorods, and nanotubes, were prepared by a hydrothermal method based on the reaction between $BiCl_3$, Te, and sodium ethylenediaminetetraacetate ($Na_2$-EDTA) at 150, 180, and $210^{\circ}C$. The products were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), and selected area electron diffraction (SAED). The effect of reaction temperature on the morphology of the $Bi_2Te_3$ particles was investigated, and the possible mechanism of morphology control was proposed.

• Proceedings of the Korean Powder Metallurgy Institute Conference
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• 2006.09b
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• pp.1223-1224
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• 2006

The p-type $(Bi_{0.2}Sb_{0.8})_2Te_3/(Pb_{0.7}Sn_{0.3})$Te functional gradient material (FGM) was fabricated by hot-pressing the mechanically alloyed $(Bi_{0.2}Sb_{0.8})_2Te_3$ and the 0.5 at% $Na_2Te-doped$ $(Pb_{0.7}Sn_{0.3})Te$ powders. Also, the n-type $Bi_2(Te_{0.9}Se_{0.1})_3/PbTe$ FGM was processed by hot-pressing the mechanically alloyed $Bi_2(Te_{0.9}Se_{0.1})_3$ and the 0.3 wt% Bi-doped PbTe powders. With ${\Delta}T$ larger than $300^{\circ}C$, the p-type $(Bi_{0.2}Sb_{0.8})_2Te_3/(Pb_{0.7}Sn_{0.3})Te$ FGM exhibited larger thermoelectric output power than those of the $(Bi_{0.2}Sb_{0.8})_2Te_3$ and the 0.5 at% $Na_2Te-doped$ $(Pb_{0.7}Sn_{0.3})Te$ alloys. For the n-type $Bi_2(Te_{0.9}Se_{0.1})_3/PbTe$ FGM, the thermoelectric output power superior to those of the $Bi_2(Te_{0.9}Se_{0.1})_3$ and the 0.3 wt% Bi-doped PbTe was predicted at ${\Delta}T$ larger than $300^{\circ}C$.