ARTICLE IN PRESS
J. Tani, H. Kido / Physica B 364 (2005) 218–224
219
0
Vining [8] pointed out that a factor A ¼ ðT=300Þ
ratio of Mg Si:Bi ¼ 1:x) were added to each
2
Ã
3=2
Ã
ðm =meÞ mkph, where m is the carrier effective
charge. They were ground together, and then
heated in a graphite die (15 mm in diameter) at
1023–1053 K for 15 min at 30 MPa under a
2
mass, m is the mobility in cm /V s, and k is the
ph
lattice thermal conductivity in mW/cmK, is a
larger value of 3.7–14 for Mg (Si, Ge, Sn), as
compared with 1.2–2.6 for SiGe and 0.05–0.8 for
b-FeSi and therefore Mg (Si, Ge, Sn) system will
achieve higher ZT with further development.
Recently, Kajikawa et al. [9,10] and Umemoto
et al. [11] reported thermoelectric properties of
À3
vacuum of 1 Â 10 Torr by the SPS method with
2
a heatingrate of 60 K/min. The density of the
annealed samples was more than 99% of the
theoretical value.
2
2
X-ray diffraction by Cu Ka radiation of the
samples detected only the anti-fluorite type struc-
ture. The Hall coefficient (R ) was measured for
Mg Si fabricated by spark plasma sintering(SPS),
2
H
which is a novel process because it is reported that
the diffusion velocity becomes extremely large
even at low temperatures due to pulse electric field
1.5-cm-diameter, 0.1-cm-thick samples usingthe
Toyo Corporation Resitest 8320. The contacts
between the samples and lead Au wires were
formed by solderingwith In. The Hall effect was
measured at 300 K usingan alternatingcurrent
(AC) magnetic method, under an applied magnetic
field of 0.39 T at a frequency of 200 mHz. The
carrier concentration (n) of the samples was
superposed on DC. In case of Mg Si, SPS plays
2
two roles: (a) solid-state reaction process between
Mgand Si, (b) densification process in a short time
at relatively low temperatures, which would be
effective to suppress the volatilization of Mgas
well as dopants with low meltingpoint. Bi has a
low meltingpoint of 545 K [12] and belongs to
same Vb group as Sb, which is n-type dopant of
Mg Si. For Bi-doped Mg Si, a low thermal
determined by the factor 1/e|R |. The Seebeck
H
coefficient (S) was measured by the standard
technique usingPt electrodes in a He ga s atmo-
sphere in the temperature range of 300–900 K
usingan ULVAC ZEM-1S. The temperature
gradient across the length of the sample was about
5 K. The electrical resistivity ðrÞ was also measured
concurrently by the four-probe DC method. The
thermal diffusion coefficients of the samples were
measured by the conventional laser flash method
usinga thermal constant analyzer (ULVAC TC-
7000). The disk specimen was set in an electric
furnace and heated to 900 K under vacuum. After
the temperature was stabilized, the front surface of
the specimen was irradiated by a ruby laser pulse.
The temperature variation at the surface was
monitored with a Pt–Pt 13%Rh thermocouple
and an InSb infrared detector. The density was
measured by the Archimedes method. The thermal
conductivity was calculated from the experimental
thermal diffusivity as well as density values and
a previous reported specific heat capacity data
2
2
conductivity might be possible because Bi has a
larger radius than other n-type dopants such as Al
and Sb. However, to our knowledge, there has
been no research concerningthe thermoelectric
properties of Bi-doped Mg Si.
2
In this paper, the thermoelectric properties of
Bi-doped Mg Si fabricated by SPS process have
2
been characterized by Hall effect measurements at
3
00 K and by measurements of electrical resistiv-
ity, Seebeck coefficient, and thermal conductivity
between 300 and 900 K. Finally, an optimum
composition giving the largest ZT value in the
present system is determined. We have also
performed quantum-mechanical first-principles
calculations of Bi-doped Mg Si within density
2
functional theory to obtain information on the
preferential site occupation of Bi in Mg Si.
2
of nondoped Mg Si investigated by Riffel and
2
2
. Experiment and details of the calculations
Schilz [13].
In order to investigate geometrical structure of
Powders of high purity, Mg (499.9%), Si
Bi-doped Mg Si, density functional theory (DFT)
2
(
499.999%), and Bi (499.9%), were used as
startingmaterials. The Mgand Si were mixed in
:1 ratio and varyingan amount of Bi (the molar
calculations within the pseudopotential and gen-
eralized gradient approximations (GGAs) were
2
performed usingthe computer pro rg am
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