Thermoelectric properties of metal-semiconductor percolation composites

RESUMO

We analyze thermoelectric response of composite materials comprising homogeneous semiconductor hosts with randomly distributed metallic inclusions. We demonstrate that the properties of such materials are strongly affected by the percolation transition (with background conductivity). We show that in vicinity of percolation threshold, the power factor and the thermoelectric figure of merit strongly depend on both the concentration and arrangement of inclusions. Finally, we identify promising regimes for enhancing the power factor in realistic composites.