Thermal conductivity of thermoelectric Si0.8-Ge0.2 alloys

Abstract

The thermal conductivity of heavily doped, n-type Si-Ge alloys has been studied from 300 to 1200 K. The scattering rate of several phonon scattering mechanisms has been calculated, including intrinsic scattering, mass defect and distortion scattering, phonon-electron scattering, and scattering by inclusions. These rates were then used to calculate the lattice thermal conductivity. The electronic component of the thermal conductivity was calculated from the calculated Lorenz ratio and measured values of the electrical conductivity. The total thermal conductivity was then compared to measured values for a specimen studied by Vining et al. [J. Appl. Phys. 69, 15 (1991)].