Making Thermoelectric Materials SnxGa1−xNx Alloys by Magnetron Sputtering Technology

Thermoelectric materials are of interest for applications as heat pumps and power generators. Thermoelectric properties of SnxGa1−xN alloys have been investigated. It was found that as Sn concentration increases, the thermal conductivity decreases and power factor increases, which leads to an increase in the TE figure of ZT. The valuge of ZT was found to be 0.07 at 300 K for Sn0.38Ga0.64N alloy. The results indicate that SnGaN alloys could be potentially important TE materials for many applications, especially for prolonged TE device operation at high temperatures, such as for recovery of waste heat from automobile, aircrafts, and power plants due to their superior physical properties, including the ability of operating at high temperature/high power conditions, high mechanical strength and stability, and radiation hardness.