Disorder scattering in solid solutions of III–V semiconducting compounds

Makowski, Lee; Glicksman, Maurice

doi:10.1016/0022-3697(73)90042-5

Cited by 141 publications

(46 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…In undoped samples the mobility reduction is solely related to the alloy scattering because the contribution from the secondary band is minimal and the effective mass of the L valence band stays unchanged in Sr alloys as in PbSe. For the mobility reduction in undoped Pb 1Àx Sr x Se alloys (n H,300K # 3 Â 10 18 cm À3 ) at 300 K (expressed as measured Hall mobility relative to Hall mobility of PbSe with the same carrier density), the observed trend can be understood with alloy scattering 15,[54][55][56] of carriers in addition to the deformation potential scattering within the framework of a single band model (see ESI † for detail). The magnitude of alloy scattering in the L valence band can thus be modeled (solid curve).…”

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confidence: 99%

Tuning bands of PbSe for better thermoelectric efficiency

Wang

Gibbs

Takagiwa

et al. 2014

Energy Environ. Sci.

222

192

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Improving the thermoelectric performance of PbSe over its previously reported maximum zT can be achieved by engineering its electronic band structure. We demonstrate here, using optical absorption spectra, first principles calculations, and temperature dependent transport measurements, that alloying PbSe with SrSe leads to a dramatic change of the band structure that increases the thermoelectric figure of merit, zT. The temperature where the two valence bands converge decreases with Sr addition. The zT value, when the carrier density is optimized, increases with Sr addition in Pb 1Àx Sr x Se and when x ¼ 0.08 a maximum zT of 1.5 at 900 K is achieved. The net benefit in zT comes from the band structure tuning even though in other thermoelectric solid solutions it is the thermal conductivity reduction from disorder that leads to net zT improvement. Broader contextBand engineering in semiconductors is important for their application in electronic or optoelectronic devices. For heavily doped thermoelectric semiconductors it is also crucial for the high zT found in PbTe 1Àx Se x , Pb 1Àx Mg x Te, and Mg 2 Si 1Àx Sn x . For high temperature bulk thermoelectrics, most of such engineering is realized by forming solid solutions. In this study we demonstrate successful band tuning of p-type PbSe, the slightly lower zT analog of the well-known thermoelectric compound PbTe, using Pb 1Àx Sr x Se solid solutions. It is well known that formation of solid solutions is desirable for thermoelectrics due to their lower thermal conductivities. We demonstrate here that the ability to change not only the band gap but also the relative positions of different band maxima provides another important benet for solid solutions as thermoelectrics. Actually, we found in these alloys that the reduction of lattice thermal conductivity by alloying has been compensated by the counter effect of the reduced carrier mobility, as also been found in the n-type solid solutions PbTe 1Àx Se x and PbSe 1Àx S x where simply forming solid solutions without the band engineering effect does not improve zT. Therefore we conclude that the change in the band structure with formation of solid solution accounts for the improvement of zT in p-type PbSe from 1.1 to 1.5 at 900 K.

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confidence: 99%

Tuning bands of PbSe for better thermoelectric efficiency

Wang

Gibbs

Takagiwa

et al. 2014

Energy Environ. Sci.

222

192

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“…For the isovalent substitutional case this is well known as the disorder scattering. 44,45 The similar effect from dopant impurities is much less considered for the carrier scattering process. Nonetheless some researchers have included it as an additional correction term in potential energy as either a "central cell 46 " correction or "strain 47 " induced effect, which reduced the discrepancy between ionized impurity scattering theory and experimental mobilities.…”

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Higher mobility in bulk semiconductors by separating the dopants from the charge-conducting band – a case study of thermoelectric PbSe

et al. 2015

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In the rigid band approximation dopants in semiconductors only change the Fermi level and carrier concentration such that different dopants are thought equivalent when fully ionized. In this work we examine the small but significant difference in mobility due to the type of dopant in heavily doped PbSe by studying n-type samples doped with Br, In and Bi. We propose that cation and anion dopants lead to a difference in mobility at high concentrations. This can be understood considering the predominance of cation states to the conduction band and anion states to the valence band. For higher mobility and better performance for most applications of heavily doped semiconductors, dopants should be on the site that is of less influence on the chargeconducting band. This concept can be viewed as an analog of modulation doping on the atomic level. Its physical origin is the random potential due to disorder that perturbs carriers, which is also the origin of Anderson localization at low temperature, a well-studied topic in theoretical physics. In thermoelectric PbSe, the selection of dopant can lead to 10% difference in mobility and in zT.

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“…Also, there is the possibility of charge scattering by stuctural rough interfaces [23,24]. For MDH involving ternary compounds, an additional scattering from random alloy-disorder potential has to be included [25]. Two distinctly different types of MDHs containing ternary compounds are possible [16,26].…”

Section: Charge Scattering Mechanisms and Comparison With Experimentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Charge Carrier Transport in Artificially Structured Two-Dimensional Semiconductor Systems

Walukiewicz

1995

Acta Phys. Pol. A

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General aspects of the electronic transport in two-dimensional and quasi--three-dimensional semiconductor systems are discussed. Contributions of dicherent scattering processes to the total electron and hole mobilities in various types of modulation doped heterostructures are calculated. It is shown that in a wide temperature range phonon scattering is the principal scattering mechanism limiting electron and hole mobilities in high quality AlGaAs/GaAs modulation doped heterostructures. Scattering from rough walls in wide parabolic wells is briefly reviewed.

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Disorder scattering in solid solutions of III–V semiconducting compounds

Cited by 141 publications

References 12 publications

Tuning bands of PbSe for better thermoelectric efficiency

Tuning bands of PbSe for better thermoelectric efficiency

Higher mobility in bulk semiconductors by separating the dopants from the charge-conducting band – a case study of thermoelectric PbSe

Charge Carrier Transport in Artificially Structured Two-Dimensional Semiconductor Systems

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