Thermoelectric material, thermoelectric element, optical sensor, and method of manufacturing thermoelectric material
AssigneeSumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd.
InventorMasahiro Adachi
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Abstract
Better thermoelectric characteristics of a thermoelectric material containing nanoparticles are achieved. The thermoelectric material contains a plurality of nanoparticles distributed in a mixture of a first material having a band gap and a second material different from the first material. The first material contains Si and Ge. A concentration of atoms of the second material and a composition ratio of Si to Ge satisfy relational expressions in expressions (1) and (2) below with c representing a concentration of atoms (unit of atomic %) of the second material in the thermoelectric material and r representing the composition ratio of Si to Ge: r≤0.62c−0.25 (1) r≥0.05c−0.06 (2).
Claims16
A thermoelectric material comprising:
- a plurality of nanoparticles distributed in a mixture of a first material and a second material,
- the first material containing Si and Ge,
- the second material being different from the first material,
- a concentration of atoms of the second material and a composition ratio of Si to Ge satisfying relational expressions in expressions (1) and (2) below with c representing a concentration of atoms (unit of atomic %) of the second material and r representing the composition ratio of Si to Ge in the thermoelectric material:
- r≤0.62c−0.25 (1)
- r≥0.05c−0.06 (2).
A method of manufacturing a thermoelectric material including a plurality of nanoparticles distributed in a mixture of a first material and a second material, the first material containing Si and Ge, the second material being different from the first material, the method comprising:
- alternately stacking a first layer containing Ge and the second material and a second layer containing Si and not containing the second material,
- a concentration of atoms of the second material and a composition ratio of Si to Ge satisfying relational expressions in expressions (1) and (2) below with c representing a concentration of atoms (unit of atomic %) of the second material and r representing the composition ratio of Si to Ge in the thermoelectric material:
- r≤0.62c−0.25 (1)
- r≥0.05c−0.06 (2).
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.