• Proceedings of the Korean Powder Metallurgy Institute Conference
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• 2006.09a
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• pp.459-460
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• 2006

N-type $Bi_2Te_3-Sb_2Te_3$ solid solutions doped with 1$CdCl_2$ was prepared by melt spinning, crushing and vacuum sintering processes. Microstructure, bending strength and thermoelectric property were investigated as a function of the doping quantity from 0.03wt.% to 0.10wt.% and sintering temperature from $400^{\circ}C$ to $500^{\circ}C$, and finally compared with those of conventionally fabricated alloys. The alloy showed a good structural homogeneity as well as bending strength of $3.88Kgf/mm^2$. The highest thermoelectric figure of merit was obtained by doping 0.03wt.% and sintering at $500^{\circ}C$.

• Proceedings of the Korean Powder Metallurgy Institute Conference
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• 2006.09a
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• pp.684-685
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• 2006

In the present study, the powder metallurgical fabrication of $Bi_{0.4}Te_3Sb_{1.6}$ thermoelectric materials has been studied with specific interest to control the microstructure by the mechanical grinding process. The $Bi_{0.4}Te_3Sb_{1.6}$ thermoelectric powders with a various particle size distribution were prepared by the combination of the mechanical milling and blending processes. The specific electric resistivity of the $Bi_{0.4}Te_3Sb_{1.6}$ sintered bodies mainly depended on the orientation of the crystal structure rather than the particle size of the raw powders.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.40 no.6
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• pp.560-565
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• 2003

M-doped (M=Al, Ni) ZnO thermoelectric materials were fully densified at low temperatures of 800∼1,000$^{\circ}C$ and their sintering characteristics and microstructural features were investigated. Electron microscopic analysis showed that the addition of NiO promoted tile formation of solid solution and caused actively grain growth. The addition of A1$_2$O$_3$ prevented the evaporation of pure ZnO at grain boundaries and suppressed the grain growth by the formation of secondary phase. In case of the addition of A1$_2$O$_3$ together with NiO, the specimen showed an excellent microstructure and also the SEM-EBSP (Electron Back-scattered Diffraction Pattern) analysis confirmed that it shows a superior grain boundary distribution to the others specimens. These microstructural characteristics induced by the addition of A1$_2$O$_3$ together with NiO may increase the electrical conductivity by the increase in carrier concentration and decrease the thermal conductivity by the phonon scattering effect and, consequently, improve the thermoelectric property.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2005.11a
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• pp.21.2-21.2
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• 2005

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.412-422
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• 1990

Porous SiC ceramics were proposed to be promising materials for high-temperature thermoelectric energy conversion. Throughthe thermoelectric property measurements and microstructure observations on the porous alpha SiC and the mixture of $\alpha$-and $\beta$-SiC, it was experimentally clarified that elimination of stacking faults and twin boundaries by grain growth is effective to increase the seebeck coefficient and increasing content of $\alpha$-SiC gives rise to lower electrical conductivity. Furthermore, the effects of additives on the thermoelectric properties of 6H-SiC ceramics were also studied. The electrical conductivity and the seebeck coefficient were measured at 35$0^{\circ}C$ to 105$0^{\circ}C$ in argon atmospehre. The thermoelectric conversion efficiency of $\alpha$-SiC ceramics was lower than that of $\beta$-SiC ceramics. The phase homogeneity would be needed to improve the seebeck coefficient and electrical conductivity decreased with increasing the content of $\alpha$-phase. In the case of B addition, XRD analysis showed that the phase transformation did not occur during sintering. On the other hand, AlN addiiton enhanced the reverse phase transformation from 6H-SiC to 4H-SiC, and this phenomenon had a great effect upon the electrical conductivity.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.21 no.8
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• pp.456-460
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• 2011

Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS)-fabricated suspended devices were used to measure the in-plane electrical conductivity, Seebeck coefficient, and thermal conductivity of 304 nm and 516 nm thick InGaAlAs films with 0.3% ErAs nanoparticle inclusions by volume. The suspended device allows comprehensive thermoelectric property measurements from a single thin film or nanowire sample. Both thin film samples have identical material compositions and the sole difference is in the sample thickness. The measured Seebeck coefficient, electrical conductivity, and thermal conductivity were all larger in magnitude for the thicker sample. While the relative change in values was dependent on the temperature, the thermal conductivity demonstrated the largest decrease for the thinner sample in the measurement temperature range of 325 K to 425 K. This could be a result of the increased phonon scattering due to the surface defects and included ErAs nanoparticles. Similar to the results from other material systems, the combination of the measured data resulted in higher values of the thermoelectric figure of merit (ZT) for the thinner sample; this result supports the theory that the reduced dimensionality, such as in twodimensional thin films or one-dimensional nanowires, can enhance the thermoelectric figure of merit compared with bulk threedimensional materials. The results strengthen and provide a possible direction in locating and optimizing thermoelectric materials for energy applications.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.21 no.10
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• pp.542-545
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• 2011

Half-Heusler alloys are a potential thermoelectric material for use in high-temperature applications. In an attempt to produce half-Heusler thermoelectric materials with fine microstructures, TiCoSb was synthesized by the mechanical alloying of stoichiometric elemental powder compositions and then consolidated by vacuum hot pressing. The phase transformations during the mechanical alloying and hot consolidation process were investigated using XRD and SEM. A single-phase, half- Heusler allow was successfully produced by the mechanical alloying process, but a minor portion of the second phase of the CoSb formation was observed after the vacuum hot pressing. The thermoelectric properties as a function of the temperature were evaluated for the hot-pressed specimens. The Seebeck coefficients in the test range showed negative values, representing n-type conductivity, and the absolute value was found to be relatively low due to the existence of the second phase. It is shown that the electrical conductivity is relatively high and that the thermal conductivities are compatibly low in MA TiCoSb. The maximum ZT value was found to be relatively low in the test temperature range, possibly due to the lower Seebeck coefficient. The Hall mobility value appeared to be quite low, leading to the lower value of Seebeck coefficient. Thus, it is likely that the single phase produced by mechanical alloying process will show much higher ZT values after an excess Ti addition. It is also believed that further property enhancement can be obtained if appropriate dopants are selectively introduced into this MA TiCoSb System.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.51 no.7
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• pp.1816-1821
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• 2019

This research investigates the feasibility of using the thermoelectric power to monitor the thermal embrittlement in 2507 super duplex stainless steel (SDSS) exposed to a temperature between $280^{\circ}C$ and $500^{\circ}C$. It is well known that the precipitation of Cr-rich ${\alpha}^{\prime}$ phase as a result of the spinodal decomposition is the major cause of the embrittlement and the loss of corrosion resistance in this material. The specimens are thermally aged at $475^{\circ}C$ for different holding times. A series of mechanical testing including the tensile test, Vickers microhardness measurement, and Charpy impact test are conducted to determine the property changes with holding time due to the embrittlement. The mechanical strengths and ferrite hardness exhibit very similar trends. Scanning electron microscopy images of impactfractured surfaces reveal a ductile to brittle transition in the fracture mode as direct evidence of the embrittlement. It is shown that the thermoelectric power is highly sensitive to the thermal embrittlement and has an excellent linear correlation with the ferrite hardness. This paper, therefore, demonstrates that the thermoelectric power is an excellent nondestructive evaluation technique for detecting and evaluating the $475^{\circ}C$ embrittlement of field 2507 SDSS structures.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2006.11a
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• pp.265-266
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• 2006

It was well known that thermopile was quiet a competent sensor using to probe the temperature of "hot point" where the temperature can be off the temperature-limitation for normal operation of the main electrical power equipment. In the present work, we aimed for developing new Ge-thermopile materials which can be using a non-contact temperature sensors at various hot-point of the power equipment and evaluation of its output property. As a results of the present works, a new thermopile which were composed Ga-poded p-type and Sb-doped n-type in Ge-semiconductor were designed and manufactured by MBE(Molecular Beam Epitaxy) process and showed superior sensitivity at room temperature.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2014.02a
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• pp.304.2-304.2
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• 2014

Chalcogenides (Te,Se) and pnictogens(Bi,Sb) materials have been widely investigated as thermoelectric materials. Especially, Bi2Te3 (Bismuth telluride) compound thermoelectric materials in thin film and nanowires are known to have the highest thermoelectric figure of merit ZT at room temperature. Currently, the thermoelectric material research is mostly driven in two directions: (1) enhancing the Seebeck coefficient, electrical conductivity using quantum confinement effects and (2) decreasing thermal conductivity using phonon scattering effect. Herein we demonstrated influence of annealing temperature on structural and thermoelectrical properties of Bismuth-telluride-selenide ternary compound thin film. Te-rich Bismuth-telluride-selenide ternary compound thin film prepared co-deposited by thermal evaporation techniques. After annealing treatment, co-deposited thin film was transformed amorphous phase to Bi2Te3-Bi2Te2Se1 polycrystalline thin film. In the experiment, to investigate the structural and thermoelectric characteristics of Bi2Te3-i2Te2Se1 films, we measured Rutherford Backscattering spectrometry (RBS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, Scanning eletron microscopy (SEM), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Seebeck coefficient measurement and Hall measurement. After annealing treatment, electrical conductivity and Seebeck coefficient was increased by defect states dominated by selenium vacant sites. These charged selenium vacancies behave as electron donors, resulting in carrier concentration was increased. Moreover, Thermal conductivity was significantly decreased because phonon scattering was enhanced through the grain boundary in Bi2Te3-Bi2Te2Se1 polycrystalline compound. As a result, The enhancement of thermoelectric figure-of-merit could be obtained by optimal annealing treatment.