Novel thermoelectric materials based on boron-doped silicon microchannel plates

The thermoelectric properties of boron-doped silicon microchannel plates (MCPs) were investigated. The samples were prepared by photo-assisted electrochemical etching (PAECE). The Seebeck coefficient and electrical resistivity at room temperature (25 °C) were measured to determine the thermoelectric properties of the samples. In order to decrease the very high resistivity, boron doping was introduced and by modulating the doping time, a series of samples with different resistivity as well as Seebeck coefficient were obtained. Boron doping changed the electrical resistivity of the samples from 1.5 × 10⁵ Ω cm to 5.8 × 10^-3 Ω cm, and the absolute Seebeck coefficient deteriorated relatively slightly from 674 μV/K to 159 μV/K. According to the Seebeck coefficient and electrical conductivity, the power factor was calculated and a peak value of 4.7 × 10^-1 mW m^-1 K^-2 was obtained. The results indicate that silicon MCPs doped with boron are promising silicon-based thermoelectric materials. © 2011 Elsevier B.V.