The effect of YSi 2 nanoinclusion on the thermoelectric properties of p‐type SiGe alloy

In this research, the p‐type Si 80 Ge 20 B 3 alloys composited with YSi 2 nanoinclusions were fabricated by melting spinning and then, spark plasma sintering. The metallic Y was chosen as the source of YSi 2 nanoparticles. It was found that the fully dense nanocomposites were formed with the homogeneous distribution of YSi 2 nanoinclusions in the SiGe matrix. The thermoelectric measurement showed that YSi 2 addition reduces the electrical conductivity but increases the Seebeck coefficient, which was attributed to the decrease in carrier concentration. The thermal conductivity was suppressed for the composite SiGe‐1.4%Y, which made this composition to exhibit the largest thermoelectric figure‐of‐merit (ZT) of 0.52. Figure‐of‐merit (ZT) and microstructure of the SiGe‐ x %Y SiGe‐1.4%Y.