Materials for Thermoelectric Application Based on the System GeTe-AgBiTe2

Abstract

The thermoelectric parameters (thermoelectric power S, electrical conductivity σand thermal conductivity κ) from the system (GeTe)1—x(AgBiTe2)x are measured in the temperature range from 300 to 800 K on hot-pressed samples with x = 0.03, 0.10, 0.15, 0.20. The thermoelectric figure of merit Z and the Ioffe criterion ZTaverage are calculated. The maximum value ZT = 1.32 at T = 700 K is found for the composition containing 3 mol% AgBiTe2. This value is practically the same as for TAGS 85, a material widely applied in USA space devices, and determines the utility of the new thermoelectric material.