Our project develops critical thermal and electrical transport measurement methods, instrumentation, and reference materials needed to support the development, performance, and reliability of bulk and thin film materials used in semiconductor microelectronics and energy conversion applications. Thermoelectric devices, for example, enable the interconversion of thermal and electrical energy, and have a significant potential to recover waste heat from industrial processes and to increase the energy efficiency of automotive engines. Opportunities exist to investigate fundamental material transport properties (Seebeck coefficient, electrical resistivity, heat capacity, thermal conductivity) by developing new measurement techniques and improved measurement instrumentation, to investigate the synthesis of novel materials using both traditional and combinatorial approaches, and to develop advanced manufacturing techniques for semiconducting devices.
References
Martin J, Tritt T, Uher C: High Temperature Seebeck Coefficient Metrology. Journal of Applied Physics-Focused Review 108: 121101, 2010
Martin J: Protocols for the High Temperature Measurement of the Seebeck Coefficient in Thermoelectric Materials. Measurement Science and Technology 24: 085601, 2013
Martin J, et al: Thermocyclic stability of candidate Seebeck coefficient Standard Reference Materials at high temperature. Journal of Applied Physics 115: 193501, 2014
Semiconductor; Energy conversion; Thermoelectric; Batteries; Transport properties;