skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Local phonon mode in thermoelectric Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 2}Se from charge neutral antisites

Journal Article · · Applied Physics Letters
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4941022· OSTI ID:22489353
 [1]; ; ;  [2]
  1. Department of Physics and Institute of Optical Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 1A7 (Canada)
  2. Department of Chemistry, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08540 (United States)

Local modes caused by defects play a significant role in the thermal transport properties of thermoelectrics. Of particular interest are charge-neutral defects that suppress thermal conductivity, without significantly reducing electrical transport. Here, we report a temperature dependent Raman study that identifies such a mode in a standard thermoelectric material, Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 2}Se. One of the modes observed, whose origin has been debated for decades, was shown most likely to be an antisite defect induced local mode. The anomalous temperature independent broadening of the local mode is ascribed to the random arrangement of Se atoms. The temperature renormalization of all modes is well explained by an anharmonic model–Klemens's model.

OSTI ID:
22489353
Journal Information:
Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 108, Issue 4; Other Information: (c) 2016 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0003-6951
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English