The effect of Mn additive on the thermoelectric properties of Fe-Si alloys prepared by a RF inductive furnace was investigated. The electrical conductivity and Seebeck coefficient were measured as a function of temperature under Ar atmosphere to evaluate their applicability to thermoelectric energy conversion. The electrical conductivity of the specimens increased with increasing temperatures showing typical semiconducting behavior. The electrical conductivity of Mn-doped specimens are higher than that of undoped specimens and increased slightly with increasing the amount of Mn additive. This must be due to the difference in carrier concentration and the amount of residual metallic phase ε-FeSi(The ε-FeSi was detected in spite of 100 h annealing treatment at 830℃). And metallic conduction increased slightly with increasing the amount of Mn additive. On the other hand, Mn-doped specimens showed the lower Seebeck coefficient due to metallic phase. The power factor of Mn-doped specimens are higher than that of undoped specimens and would be affected by the electrical conductivity more than Seebeck coefficient.
Key Words
Fe-Si alloy, seebeck coefficient, electrical conductivity, power factor