New Interest in Intermetallic Compound ZnSb

Abstract

The intermetallic compound ZnSb has been known since the 1830s. It has semiconductor properties, but its mechanical, thermal, and chemical properties are very close to those of a metallic alloy. When thermoelectrics based on (BiSb)2(TeSe)3 solid solutions were created, interest in ZnSb subsided. However, the current situation is different, as tellurium has become expensive and rare. Moreover, its compounds are too toxic, and it is too difficult to produce such materials and devices from these solid solutions. Recently, n-type material based on Mg2(SnSi) solid solution was proposed in the Laboratory of Physics for Thermoelements of the Ioffe Physical-Technical Institute. This material together with ZnSb may form a promising couple for creating various thermoelectric modules. In this paper, various properties (Hall and Seebeck coefficients, electrical and thermal conductivities) are reported in the temperature range from 80 K to 797 K. Different acceptor impurities have been tested. The Hall concentration at room temperature varied from 1.5 × 1018 cm−3 to 2.7 × 1019 cm−3. Some features have been discovered in the behavior of the thermoelectric parameters of double-doped ZnSb samples at temperatures above 500 K. Their nature points to a temperature-dependent increase of the Hall concentration. The existence of two temperature ranges with additional doping is revealed by Hall coefficient and electrical conductivity measurements in the range from 80 K to 797 K. The experimental data are discussed based on a model of the energy spectrum with impurity and native defect states localized in the energy gap. It is shown that the dimensionless thermoelectric figure of merit of ZnSb: Cd, Ag, Sn is not less than 1.0 at 600 K.