Transparent Conducting Oxides as Potential Thermoelectrics

Transparent conducting oxides (TCOs) in their less-doped semiconducting states have potential as thermoelectric oxides or TEOs. They are attractive as TEOs owing to: 1) their good thermochemical stability, 2) their n-type character (to complement existing p-type TEOs), and 3) their high electronic mobilities. The numerator of the TE figure of merit (Z), also known as the ``power factor'' (PF), is the product of the electronic conductivity and the square of the Seebeck coefficient. An experimental procedure named after its developer, ``Jonker'' analysis plots Seebeck coefficient vs. the natural logarithm of the electronic conductivity. Data for bulk ceramic specimens just prior to the onset of degeneracy tend to fall on a line of slope, k/e (k$=$Boltzmann constant, e$=$charge of the electron). From this line, the doping composition corresponding to the highest power factor can be determined and the PF optimized, based upon data from a few carefully chosen compositions. Subsequently, following a procedure originally derived by Ioffe, the zero-thermopower intercept of these Jonker lines can be directly related to the maximum achievable power factor for a given TEO. So-called ``Ioffe'' plots allow for meaningful comparisons between candidate TEO materials, and also indicate the minimum thermal conductivity required to achieve a target ZT value at the temperature of measurement. Results for TCO-based TEOs will be discussed for both simple and compound (including layered) materials.