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LaBiTe 3 : An unusual thermoelectric material
Author(s) -
Singh Nirpendra,
Schwingenschlögl Udo
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
physica status solidi (rrl) – rapid research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.786
H-Index - 68
eISSN - 1862-6270
pISSN - 1862-6254
DOI - 10.1002/pssr.201409110
Subject(s) - thermoelectric effect , boltzmann constant , condensed matter physics , doping , spintronics , figure of merit , conduction band , thermoelectric materials , materials science , thermal conduction , band gap , boltzmann equation , engineering physics , optoelectronics , thermodynamics , physics , quantum mechanics , ferromagnetism , composite material , electron
Using first‐principles calculations and semi‐classical Boltzmann transport theory, the thermoelectric properties of LaBiTe 3 are studied. The band gap and, hence, the thermoelectric response are found to be easily tailored by application of strain. Independent of the temperature, the figure of merit turns out to be maximal at a doping of about 1.6 × 10 21 cm –3 . At room temperature we obtain values of 0.4 and 0.5 for unstrained and moderately strained LaBiTe 3 , which increases to 1.1 and 1.3 at 800 K. A large spin splitting is observed in the conduction band at the T point. Therefore, LaBiTe 3 merges characteristics that are interesting for thermoelectric as well as spintronic devices. (© 2014 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH &Co. KGaA, Weinheim)