A thermoelectric material may be composed of an isostructural pair of Heusler compounds, either a pair of full Heusler (FH) X.sub.2YZ compounds or a pair of half Heusler (HH) XYZ compounds. In the FH pair, a first compound of the pair may the formula (X1).sub.2Y1Z1, wherein X1 is selected from Fe and Co; Y1 is selected from Ti, V, Nb, Hf, and Ta; and Z1 is selected from Al, Ga, Si, and Sn and a second compound of the pair has the formula (X2).sub.2Y2Z2, wherein X2 is selected from Mn, Fe, Co, Ru, and Rh; Y2 is selected from Ti, V, Mn, Zr, Nb, Hf, and Ta; and Z2 is selected from Be, Al, Ga, Si, Ge and Sn. The first and second compounds of the pair may share two elements in common and have third elements which are different and are either isovalent or have a valency which differs by ±1. In the HH pair, a first compound of the pair may have the formula X1Y1Z1 wherein X1 is selected from Ni and Fe; Y1 is selected from Ti, V, and Nb; and Z1 is selected from Sn and Sb and a second compound of the pair has the formula X2Y2Z2 wherein X2 is selected from Fe, Ru and Pt; Y2 is selected from Ti, V, and Nb; and Z2 is selected from Sn and Sb. The first and second compounds of the pair may share two elements in common and have third elements which are different and are either isovalent or have a valency which differs by ±1. The thermoelectric material at room temperature may have a nanostructured two-phase form having a matrix phase composed of the first compound of the FH pair or the first compound of the HH pair and a nanostructured phase composed of the second compound of the FH pair or the second compound of the HH pair, respectively.

The present invention relates to a thermoelectric material and, specifically, to a thermoelectric material manufacturing method for increasing potential density. The thermoelectric material manufacturing method of the present invention can comprise the steps of: preparing a bulk thermoelectric material by using thermoelectric material raw materials; preparing a powder of the bulk thermoelectric material; adding, to the powder, a metal additive selected from the thermoelectric material raw materials; forming an intermediate in which the metal additive is dispersed in the thermoelectric material; and sintering same at at least the melting point temperature of the metal additive.

A semiconductor crystal substrate includes a crystal substrate that is formed of a material including GaSb or InAs, a first buffer layer that is formed on the crystal substrate and formed of a material including GaSb, the first buffer layer having n-type conductivity, and a second buffer layer that is formed on the first buffer layer and formed of a material including GaSb, the second buffer layer having p-type conductivity.

A thermoelectric conversion element includes a p-type thermoelectric converter, an n-type thermoelectric converter, a first electrode, a second electrode, and a third electrode. One end of the p-type converter is electrically connected to one end of the n-type converter. The other end of the p-type converter is electrically connected to the second electrode, and the other end of the n-type converter is electrically connected to the third electrode. The p-type converter includes a first phononic crystal layer having a first phononic crystal structure including regularly arranged first through holes. The n-type converter includes a second phononic crystal layer having a second phononic crystal structure including regularly arranged second through holes. The through direction of the first through holes is a direction extending between the ends of the p-type converter. The through direction of the second through holes is a direction extending between the ends of the n-type converter.

The present disclosure provides a novel multilayer body. The multilayer body of the present disclosure includes a first phononic crystal layer and a second phononic crystal layer disposed on or above the first phononic crystal layer. The first phononic crystal layer has a first phononic crystal structure including a plurality of regularly arranged first through holes. The second phononic crystal layer has a second phononic crystal structure including a plurality of regularly arranged second through holes. The through direction of the plurality of first through holes in the first phononic crystal layer is substantially parallel to the through direction of the plurality of second through holes in the second phononic crystal layer.

A thermoelectric conversion material contains a matrix composed of a semiconductor and nanoparticles disposed in the matrix, and the nanoparticles have a lattice constant distribution Δd/d of 0.0055 or more.

Polycrystalline magnesium silicide containing only carbon as a dopant and having carbon distributed at the crystal grain boundaries and within the crystal grains, a thermoelectric conversion material obtained using the polycrystalline magnesium silicide, a sintered compact, a thermoelectric conversion element, and a thermoelectric conversion module, and methods for producing polycrystalline magnesium silicide and a sintered compact.

At least one of the present embodiments generally relates to an apparatus and a method for enhancing the figure of merit (zT) in composite thermoelectric materials using aerogel such as e.g., silicate/silica aerogel, carbon aerogel, chalcogenide aerogel and metal oxide aerogel. For example, the present embodiments provide apparatuses and methods for the addition of aerogels to two commonly used p and n type thermoelectric materials and thereby enhancing their thermoelectric figure of merits to record levels.

A thermoelectric conversion material is composed of a compound semiconductor including a plurality of base material elements, and includes: an amorphous phase; and crystal phases having an average grain size of more than or equal to 5 nm, each of the crystal phases being in a form of a grain. The plurality of base material elements include a specific base material element that causes an increase of a band gap by increasing a concentration of the specific base material element. An atomic concentration of the specific base material element included in the crystal phases with respect to a whole of the plurality of base material elements included in the crystal phases is higher than an atomic concentration of the specific base material element included in the compound semiconductor with respect to a whole of the plurality of base material elements included in the compound semiconductor.

A thermoelectric material includes a lower part from a bottom surface of the thermoelectric material to a point of 30% of an average thickness of the thermoelectric material and having an average content of carbon atoms of 40 at% or more in the thermoelectric material, and an upper part corresponding to a remaining 70% of the average thickness of the thermoelectric material and having an average content of carbon atoms of 20 at% or less in the thermoelectric material.