Recent Developments in Thermoelectric Metrology at NIST

Published

July 10, 2010

Author(s)

Winnie K. Wong-Ng, Joshua B. Martin, Nathan Lowhorn, Makoto Otani, Evan L. Thomas, Martin L. Green, Jason Hattrick-Simpers, Yonggao Y. Yan, Thanh Tran, Jihui Yang

Abstract

We have successfully developed several important thermoelectric metrologies in recent years at NIST. First, a low temperature (10 K to 390 K) Seebeck coefficient Standard Reference Material (SRM™), Bi2Te3, which is crucial for inter-laboratory data comparison and for instrument calibration, has been produced. Second, to accelerate thermoelectric material exploration, a high-throughput thermoelectric screening system for combinatorial thin films was developed. The screening device for thermoelectric power factor (S2/p; S = Seebeck coefficient, p = electrical resistivity) allows us to measure p and S of over 1000 sample-points within 6 hours. The thermal effusivity screening system using the frequency domain thermoreflectance technique allows us to determine thermal conductivity of combinatorial films, conventional films and bulk materials with high efficiency, i.e. 1000 data points within 6 hours. Third, a flexible and reliable instrument to measure high temperature Seeebeck coefficient and resistivity is under development. This tool allows the minimization of a number of measurement uncertainties that contribute to the overall systematic errors.

Proceedings Title

International Symposium on Advanced Dielectric Materials and Electronic Devices

Volume

221

Conference Dates

October 26-29, 0009

Conference Location

Pittsburgh, PA

Conference Title

Materials Science and Technology 2009 Conference and Exhibit (MS&T09)

Pub Type

Conferences

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Keywords

thermoelectric metrology, Seebeck coefficient standard reference material, resistivity, thermal conductivity, combinatorial thermoelectric screening tool, thermoelectric metrology, Seebeck coefficient standard reference material, resistivity, thermal conductivity, combinatorial thermoelectric screening tool

Citation

Wong-Ng, W. , Martin, J. , Lowhorn, N. , Otani, M. , Thomas, E. , Green, M. , Hattrick-Simpers, J. , Yan, Y. , Tran, T. and Yang, J. (2010), Recent Developments in Thermoelectric Metrology at NIST, International Symposium on Advanced Dielectric Materials and Electronic Devices, Pittsburgh, PA, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=903945 (Accessed November 4, 2025)