• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.357-363
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• 2017

In this study, Bi-Sb-Te thermoelectric materials are produced by mechanical alloying (MA) and spark plasma sintering (SPS). To examine the influence of the milling atmosphere on the microstructure and thermo-electric (TE) properties, a p-type Bi-Sb-Te composite powder is mechanically alloyed in the presence of argon and air atmospheres. The oxygen content increases to 55% when the powder is milled in the air atmosphere, compared with argon. All grains are similar in size and uniformly, distributed in both atmospheric sintered samples. The Seebeck coefficient is higher, while the electrical conductivity is lower in the MA (Air) sample due to a low carrier concentration compared to the MA (Ar) sintered sample. The maximum figure of merit (ZT) is 0.91 and 0.82 at 350 K for the MA (Ar) and MA (Air) sintered samples, respectively. The slight enhancement in the ZT value is due to the decrease in the oxygen content during the MA (Ar) process. Moreover, the combination of mechanical alloying and SPS process shows a higher hardness and density values for the sintered samples.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2010.03a
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• pp.11-11
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• 2010

In order to design for nano structured materials with enhanced thermoelectric properties, the alloys in the pseudo-binary $Bi_2Te_3$-PbTe system were investigated for their micro structure and thermal properties. For this synthesis the liquid alloys were cooled by water quenching method. The micro structure images were taken by using electron probe micro analyzer (EPMA). Dendritic and lamellar structures were clearly observed with the variation in the composition ratio between $Bi_2Te_3$ and PbTe. It was confirmed that a metastable compounds is $PbBi_2Te_4$ in the The $Bi_2Te_3$-PbTe system. The change in the composition increasing $Bi_2Te_3$ ratio causes to change structure from dendritic to lamellar. Seebeck coefficient of alloys 5 which the mixture rate of $Bi_2Te_3$ is 83% was measured as the highest value. In contrast, the others decreased by increasing $Bi_2Te_3$. n-type characteristics was observed at all condition except alloy 6 which $Bi_2Te_3$ ration is 91%. The power factors of all samples were calculated with Seebeck coefficient and resistivity. Also the thermal conductivity was measured by using laser flash analyzer (LFA). In this work, the microstructures and thermal properties have been measured as a function of ratio of $Bi_2Te_3$ in the $Bi_2Te_3$-PbTe system.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.239-245
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• 2021

The SnSe single crystal shows an outstanding figure of merit (ZT) of 2.6 at 973 K; thus, it is considered to be a promising thermoelectric material. However, the mass production of SnSe single crystals is difficult, and their mechanical properties are poor. Alternatively, we can use polycrystalline SnSe powder, which has better mechanical properties. In this study, surface modification by atomic layer deposition (ALD) is chosen to increase the ZT value of SnSe polycrystalline powder. SnSe powder is ground by a ball mill. An ALD coating process using a rotary-type reactor is adopted. ZnO thin films are grown by 100 ALD cycles using diethylzinc and H₂O as precursors at 100℃. ALD is performed at rotation speeds of 30, 40, 50, and 60 rpm to examine the effects of rotation speed on the thin film characteristics. The physical and chemical properties of ALD-coated SnSe powders are characterized by scanning and tunneling electron microscopy combined with energy-dispersive spectroscopy. The results reveal that a smooth oxygen-rich ZnO layer is grown on SnSe at a rotation speed of 30 rpm. This result can be applied for the uniform coating of a ZnO layer on various powder materials.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2014.02a
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• pp.197.1-197.1
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• 2014

VO2 has intensively investigated for several decades due to its interesting physical properties, including metal-insulator transition (MIT), thermochromic and thermoelectric properties, near the room temperature. And also gas and photo sensing properties of VO2 nanowires have attracted increasing research interest due to the high sensitivity and multi-sensing capability. We studied the light-induced resistance change of VO2 nanowires. In particular, we have investigated plasmonic enhancement of the photo-sensing properties of the VO2 nanowires. To select proper wavelength, we performed finite-difference time-domain simulations of electric field distribution in the VO2 nanowires attached with Ag nanoparticles. Localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) is expected at wavelength of 560 nm. The photo-sensitivity was carefully examined as a function of the sample temperature. In the presentation, we will discuss physical origins of the photo-induced resistance change in VO2.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.16 no.7
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• pp.4835-4841
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• 2015

The effect of particle size and compaction pressure on the thermoelectric properties of n-type $FeSi_2$ was investigated. The starting powders with various particle size were pressed into a compact (compaction pressure; $70{\sim}220kg/cm^2$). The compact specimens were sintered at 1473 K for 7 h and annealed at 1103 K for 100 h under Ar atmosphere to transform to the semiconducting ${\beta}$-phase. The microstructure and phases of the specimens were observed by SEM, XRD and EDS. The electrical conductivity and Seebeck coefficient were measured simultaneously for the same specimen at r.t.~1023 K in Ar atmosphere. The electrical conductivity increased with decreasing particle size and hence the increases of relative density of the sintered body and the amount of residual metallic phase ${\varepsilon}$-FeSi due to a increase of the electrical conductivity. The Seebeck coefficient exhibited the maximum value at about 700~800 K and decreased with decreasing particle size. This must be due to a increase of residual metallic phase ${\varepsilon}$-FeSi. On the other hand, the change of compaction pressure appeared to have little effect on the thermoelectric properties. Consequently, the power factor would be affected more by particle size than compaction pressure.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.246-252
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• 2000

Thermoelectric properties of the $Bi_2(Te_{0.85}Se_{0.15})_3$ alloy, prepared by mechanical alloying and hot pressing, were investigated with the variation of the hot-pressing temperature ranging from $300^{\circ}C$ to $550^{\circ}C$. Contrary to the p-type behavior of single crystal, the hot-pressed $Bi_2(Te_{0.85}Se_{0.15})_3$ alloy exhibited n-type conduction without addition of donor dopant. When the $Bi_2(Te_{0.85}Se_{0.15})_3$ powders were annealed in $(50{\%}\;H_2+50{\%}\;Ar)$ atmosphere, the hot-pressed specimens exhibited a positive Seebeck coefficient due to the reduction of the electron concentration by removal of the oxide layer on the powder surface and annealing-out of the excess Te vacancies. Figure-of-merit of the hot-pressed $Bi_2(Te_{0.85}Se_{0.15})_3$ alloy was improved by hot pressing at temperatures above $450^{\circ}C$, and the maximum value of $1.92{\times}10^{-3}/K$ was obtained for the specimen hot-pressed at $550^{\circ}C$.

• 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 $75^{\circ}C$.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.257-263
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• 2000

Thermoelectric properties of the 0.05wt% $SbI_3$-doped n-type $Bi_2(Te_{0.95}Se_{0.05})_3$ alloy, prepared by melting/grinding and hot pressing, were investigated with variation of the annealing time up to 36 hours. The electron concentration of the 0.05wt% SbI$_3$-doped n-type $Bi_2(Te_{0.95}Se_{0.05})_3$ alloy decreased with increasing the annealing time. The figure-of-merit of the 0.05wt% $SbI_3$-doped n-type $Bi_2(Te_{0.95}Se_{0.05})_3$ alloy was improved from $2.1{\times}10^{-3}/K$ to $2.35{\times}10^{-3}/K$ by annealing at $500^{\circ}C$ for 3 hours. When annealed longer than 12 hours, however, the figure-of-merit decreased substantially due to the increase of the electrical resistivity.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.294-298
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• 2002

Polycrystalline $La_{2.1}Sr_{1.9}Mn_3O_{10}$ with layered perovskite structure have been successfully synthesized and investigated with respect to their thermoelectric, electric and magnetic properties. The large magnetoresistance (MR) effect with $-{\Delta}{\rho}/{\rho}_0$ of ∼120% at 0.85T was observed in a wide temperature range below a cusp temperature in resistivity of about 120K, which is well below the magnetic $T_C$. At high temperature, a singnificant difference between the activation energy deduced from the electrical resistivity and thermoelectric power, a characteristic of small polaron, is observed. All of the experimental data can be well explained on the basis of the small polaron model.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.41-49
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• 2008

Thermoelectric properties of the n-type Bi-Te and the p-type Bi-Sb-Te films were measured and the growth behaviors of the electrodeposited Bi-Te and Bi-Sb-Te nanowires were characterized. Filling ratios of 81% and 77% were obtained for electrodeposition of the Bi-Te and the Bi-Sb-Te nanowires, respectively, into the nano pores of 200 nm-diameter of an alumina template. A thermoelectric module, composed of the Bi-Te nanowires and the Bi-Sb-Te nanowires was processed by electrodeposition, and a resistance value of $15{\Omega}$ was measured between the Ni electrodes formed on the Bi-Te nanowires and the Bi-Sb-Te nanowires of the module.