Ba. Cook et al., ELECTRICAL-PROPERTIES OF GA AND ZNS DOPED ZNO PREPARED BY MECHANICAL ALLOYING, Journal of applied physics, 83(11), 1998, pp. 5858-5861
A series of n-type ZnO alloys doped with Ga and ZnS were prepared by m
echanical alloying. Densities of 95% Co 98% of theoretical density wer
e achieved by hot pressing the milled powders at 1000 and 1200 degrees
C, respectively. The electrical resistivity and Seebeck coefficient o
f alloys containing 0.25-3.0 at, % Ga were characterized between 22 an
d 1000 degrees C, The magnitude of the resistivity and Seebeck coeffic
ient at 22 degrees C ranged from 0.2 m Omega cm and -25 mu V/degrees C
for the most heavily doped specimen to 1.1 m Omega cm and -70 mu V/de
grees C for the lightly doped material. The alloys exhibit a positive
temperature coefficient of resistivity and Seebeck coefficient with a
nearly constant slope over the temperature range studied. Thermal diff
usivity measurements on a specimen containing 1.0 at. % Ga were perfor
med over the same temperature range. The thermal conductivity appears
to follow a T-1 dependence, decreasing from 180 mW/cm degrees C at 22
degrees C to 82 mW/cm degrees C at 1000 degrees C, An estimate of the
maximum dimensionless thermoelectric figure of merit, ZT, in this syst
em at 1000 degrees C gives a value of 0.26, a factor of three to four
less than current state-of-the-art materials such as Si-Ge, A signific
ant reduction in thermal conductivity would be required to make these
alloys competitive with existing thermoelectric power generation mater
ials. (C) 1998 American Institute of Physics. [S0021-8979(98)03011-4].