• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.15-19
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• 2013

The n-type $Bi_2(Te_{0.9}Se_{0.1})_3$ powders, which were fabricated by melting/grinding method and dispersed with 0.5 vol% $TiO_2$ nanopowders, were hot-pressed in order to investigate the effects of $TiO_2$ dispersion on the thermoelectric properties of the hot-pressed $Bi_2(Te_{0.9}Se_{0.1})_3$. Excellent thermoelectric properties such as a maximum figure-of-merit of $2.93{\times}10^{-3}/K$ and a maximum dimensionless figure-of-merit of 1.02 were obtained for the hot-pressed $Bi_2(Te_{0.9}Se_{0.1})_3$. With dispersion of 0.5 vol% $TiO_2$ nanopowders, the maximum figure-of-merit and the maximum dimensionless figure-of-merit decreased to $2.09{\times}10^{-3}/K$ and 0.68, respectively.

• Proceedings of the Korean Powder Metallurgy Institute Conference
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• 2006.09a
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• pp.682-683
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• 2006

Thermoelectric conversion efficiency of thermoelectric elements can be increased by using a structure combining n-type and p-type semiconductors. From the above point of view, attention was directed at ZnO as a candidate n-type semiconductor material and investigations were made. As the result, a dimensionless figure of merit ZT close to 0.28 (1073K) was obtained for specimens produced by the PCS (Pulse Current Sintering) method with addition of specified quantities of $TiO_2$, CoO, and $Al_2O_3$ to ZnO. It was found that the interstitial $TiO_2$ in the ZnO restrains the grain growth and CoO acts onto the bond between grains. The influence of the inclusion of $TiO_2$ and CoO onto the sintering behavior also was investigated.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.345-349
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• 2013

Carbon nanotube-dispersed bismuth telluride matrix (CNT/$Bi_2Te_3$) nanopowders were synthesized by chemical routes followed by a ball-milling process. The microstructures of the synthesized CNT/$Bi_2Te_3$ nanopowders showed the characteristic microstructure of CNTs dispersed among disc-shaped $Bi_2Te_3$ nanopowders with as an average size of 500 nm in-plane and a few tens of nm in thickness. The prepared nanopowders were sintered into composites with a homogeneous dispersion of CNTs in a $Bi_2Te_3$ matrix. The dimensionless figure-of-merit of the composite showed an enhanced value compared to that of pure $Bi_2Te_3$ at the room temperature due to the reduced thermal conductivity and increased electrical conductivity with the addition of CNTs.

• Proceedings of the Korean Powder Metallurgy Institute Conference
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• 2006.09b
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• pp.1198-1199
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• 2006

Type I clathrate $Ba_8Al_{16}Si_{30}$ was produced by arc melting and hot pressing and thermoelectric properties were investigated. Negative Seebeck coefficient at all temperatures measured, which means that the majority carriers are electrons. Electrical conductivity decreased by increasing temperature and thermal conductivity was 0.012 W/cmK at room temperature and dimensionless thermoelectric figure of merit (ZT) was 0.01 at 873K.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.16 no.7
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• pp.412-415
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• 2006

Te-doped $CoSb_3$ was prepared by the encapsulated induction melting, and its doping effects on the thermoelectric properties were investigated. Single phase ${\delta}-CoSb_3$ was successfully obtained by the subsequent annealing at 773 K for 24 hrs. Tellurium atoms acted as electron donors by substituting antimony atoms. Thermoelectric properties were remarkably improved by the appropriate doping. Dimensionless figure of merit was obtained to be 0.83 at 700K for the $CoSb_{2.8}Te_{0.2}$ specimen.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.55-61
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• 2011

The n-type $Bi_2(Te_{0.9}Se_{0.1})_3$ powers were fabricated by mechanical alloying, mixed with tungsten(W) powders, and hot-pressed at $550^{\circ}C$ for 30 minutes. Thermoelectric properties of the hot-pressed $Bi_2(Te_{0.9}Se_{0.1})_3$ were characterized as a function of the volume percent of tungsten-powder addition. The power factor of the hot-pressed $Bi_2(Te_{0.9}Se_{0.1})_3$ was $21.9{\times}10^{-4}$ $W/m-K^2$, and was improved to $30.5{\times}10^{-4}$ $W/m-K^2$ by dispersion of 1 vol% W powders. While the dimensionless figure-of-merit of the $Bi_2(Te_{0.9}Se_{0.1})_3$ hot-pressed without dispersion of W powders was measured as 0.52 at room temperature, it became substantially enhanced to 0.95 with addition of 1 vol% W powders.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.56 no.11
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• pp.822-828
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• 2018

P-type Ce/Yb-filled skutterudites were synthesized, and their charge transport and thermoelectric properties were investigated with partial double filling and charge compensation. In the case of $(Ce_{1-z}Yb_z)_{0.8}Fe_4Sb_{12}$ without Co substitution, the marcasite ($FeSb_2$) phase formed alongside the skutterudite phase, but the generation of the marcasite phase was inhibited by increasing Co concentration. The electrical conductivity decreased with increasing temperature, exhibiting degenerate semiconductor behavior. The Hall and Seebeck coefficients were positive, which confirmed that the specimens were p-type semiconductors with holes as the major carriers. The carrier concentration decreased as the concentration of Ce and Co increased, which led to decreased electrical conductivity and increased Seebeck coefficient. The thermal conductivity decreased due to a reduction in electronic thermal conductivity via Co substitution, and due to decreased lattice thermal conductivity via double filling of Ce and Yb. $(Ce_{0.25}Yb_{0.75})_{0.8}Fe_{3.5}Co_{0.5}Sb_{12}$ exhibited the greatest dimensionless figure of merit (ZT = 0.66 at 823 K).

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Surface Engineering Conference
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• 2018.06a
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• pp.53-53
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• 2018

Thermoelectric materials can convert directly waste heat to electricity and vice versa. The improvement of the thermoelectric efficiency strongly depends on the dimensionless figure of merit, $ZT=S^2{\sigma}T/{\kappa}$, where S is the Seebeck coefficient, ${\sigma}$ is the electrical conductivity, T is the absolute temperature, and ${\kappa}$ is the thermal conductivity. The thermal conductivity consists of the electronic contribution (${\kappa}_e$) and phonon contribution (${\kappa}_{ph}$). It is very challenge to increase the power factor, $S^2{\sigma}$ and to reduce the thermal conductivity simultaneously because the power factor and electronic thermal conductivity are coupled. One strategy is to decrease the phonon thermal conductivity. The phonon thermal conductivity can be decreased by controlling the grain size and structural defects such as dislocations and twinning. In order to achieve enhancements in thermoelectric efficiency, microstructures that can form numerous interfaces have been investigated intensively for controlling the transport of charge carriers and heat carrying phonons. In this presentation, we report the heterogeneous microstructure of $Mg_2Si_{0.6}Sn_{0.4}$ thermoelectric materials and investigation of its influence on thermoelectric properties.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.287-292
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• 2022

Magnesium-antimonide is a well-known zintl phase thermoelectric material with low band gap energy, earth-abundance and characteristic electron-crystal phonon-glass properties. The nominal composition Mg_3.8-xZn_xSb₂ (0.00 ≤ x ≤ 0.02) was synthesized by controlled melting and subsequent vacuum hot pressing method. To investigate phase development and surface morphology during the process, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were carried out. It should be noted that an additional 16 at. % Mg must be added to the system to compensate for Mg loss during the melting process. This study evaluated the thermoelectric properties of the material in terms of Seebeck coefficient, electrical conductivity and thermal conductivity from the low to high temperature regime. The results demonstrated that substituting Zn at Mg sites increased electrical conductivity without significantly affecting the Seebeck coefficient. The maximal dimensionless figure of merit achieved was 0.30 for x = 0.01 at 855 K which is 30% greater than the intrinsic value. Electronic flow properties were also evaluated and discussed to explain the carrier transport mechanism involved in the thermoelectric properties of this alloy system.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.377-381
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• 2006

Skutterudite $CoSb_3$ doped with nickel was prepared by encapsulated induction melting, and its doping effects on thermoelectric properties were investigated. Single phase ${\delta}-CoSb_3$ was successfully obtained by encapsulated induction melting and subsequent heat treatment at 773 K for 24 h. Nickel atoms acted as electron donors by substituting cobalt atoms. Thermoelectric properties were remarkably improved by appropriate heat treatment and doping, and they were closely related to phase transitions and dopant activation. The maximum ZT(dimensionless figure of merit) was achieved as 0.2 at 600 K for the $Co_{0.93}Ni_{0.07}Sb_3$ specimen.