Transport Properties of Ni, Co, Fe, Mn Doped Cu0.01Bi2Te2.7Se0.3 for Thermoelectric Device Applications

Bi2Te3 based thermoelectric devices typically use a nickel layer as a diffusion barrier to block the diffusion of solder or copper atoms from the electrode into the thermoelectric material. Previous studies have shown degradation in the efficiency of these thermoelectric devices may be due to the diffusion of the barrier layer into the thermoelectric material. In this work Ni, Co, Fe, and Mn are intentionally doped into Cu0.01Bi2Te2.7Se0.3 in order to understand their effects on the thermoelectric material. Thermoelectric transport properties including the Seebeck coefficient, thermal conductivity, electrical resistivity, carrier concentration, and carrier mobility of Cu0.01Bi2Te2.7Se0.3 doped with 2 atomic percent M (M=Ni, Co, Fe, Mn) as Cu0.01Bi2Te2.7Se0.3M0.02, are studied in a temperature range of 5-525 K.