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Investigation of Wide Bandgap Semiconductors for Thermoelectric Applications

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2013

B. Kucukgok
Affiliation:
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 9201 University City Blvd, Charlotte, NC 28223, U.S.A.
Q. He
Affiliation:
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 9201 University City Blvd, Charlotte, NC 28223, U.S.A.
A. Carlson
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Science, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 9201 University City Blvd, Charlotte, NC 28223, U.S.A.
A. G. Melton
Affiliation:
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 9201 University City Blvd, Charlotte, NC 28223, U.S.A.
I. T. Ferguson
Affiliation:
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 9201 University City Blvd, Charlotte, NC 28223, U.S.A.
N. Lu
Affiliation:
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 9201 University City Blvd, Charlotte, NC 28223, U.S.A. Department of Engineering Technology, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 9201 University City Blvd, Charlotte, NC 28223, U.S.A.
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Abstract

Thermoelectric materials with stable mechanical and chemical properties at high temperature are required for power generation applications. For example, gas temperatures up to 1000°C are normally present in the waste stream of industrial processes and this can be used for electricity generation. There are few semiconductor materials that can operate effectively at these high temperatures. One solution may be the use of wide bandgap materials, and in particular GaN-based materials, which may offer a traditional semiconductor solution for high temperatures thermoelectric power generation. In particular, the ability to both grow GaN-based materials and fabricate them into devices is well understood if their thermoelectric properties are favorable. To investigate the possibility of using III-Nitride and its alloys for thermoelectric applications, we synthesized and characterized room temperature thermoelectric properties of metal organic chemical vapor deposition grown GaN and InGaN with different carrier concentrations and indium compositions. The promising value of Seebeck coefficients and power factors of Si-doped GaN and InGaN indicated that these materials are suitable for thermoelectric applications.

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Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2013 

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