Plasma synthesis of nanostructures for improved thermoelectric properties

Nils Petermann (1) , Niklas Stein (2) , Gabi Schierning (2, 3) , Ralf Theissmann (2, 3) , Benedikt Stoib (4) , Christian Hecht (1) , Christof Schulz (1, 3) , Hartmut Wiggers (1, 3)

1 Institut für Verbrennung und Gasdynamik
2 Nanostrukturtechnik
3 CeNIDE - Center for Nanointegration Duisburg-Essen
4 WSI - Walter Schottky Institut

The utilization of silicon-based materials for thermoelectrics is studied with respect to synthesis and processing of doped silicon nanoparticles from gas phase plasma synthesis. It is found that plasma synthesis enables for the formation of spherical, highly crystalline and soft-agglomerated materials. We discuss the requirements for the formation of dense sintered bodies while keeping the crystallite size small. Both, small particles sizing a few ten nanometer and below that are easily achievable from plasma synthesis, and a weak surface oxidation lead to a pronounced sinter activity about 350 K below the temperature usually needed for successful densification of silicon. The thermoelectric properties of our sintered materials are comparable with the best results found for nanocrystalline silicon prepared by other methods than plasma synthesis.

Mots clés: Physical Sciences

Nils Petermann, Niklas Stein, Gabi Schierning, Ralf Theissmann, Benedikt Stoib, et al.. Plasma synthesis of nanostructures for improved thermoelectric properties. Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, 2011, 44 (17), pp.174034. ⟨10.1088/0022-3727/44/17/174034⟩. ⟨hal-00613287⟩