Abstract
Silicon-germanium (SiGe) alloy has been studied for thermoelectric (TE) generators for decades due to its high-temperature stability. However, its low TE performance at a low temperature still needs to be solved. Nanoinclusion improves the TE performance, but the material and processing costs are still high. Here, we proposed a method by embedding silicide during crystal growth; in-situ observation at different cooling rates was carried out. At a 100 K/min cooling rate, a SiGe alloy containing α-FeSi2 precipitates was grown, which yielded a relatively low lattice thermal conductivity κlat of 4.80 Wm−1K−1 and a good zT value of 0.08 at room temperature. This was comparable to the commercial SiGe alloy, but the germanium used was reduced by 25%, and the process was much faster.
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