Influence of contact resistance and heat leakage in the determination of the dimensionless figure of merit via duo-impedance spectroscopy

Abstract

The influence of contact resistance between a polycrystalline bismuth as a basic thermoelectric material and electrodes made of copper using binders of Ag epoxy and conventional solder was investigated to estimate the dimensionless figure of merit (zT) via impedance spectroscopy (IS). The frequency dependence of the impedance using both binders was measured at 300 K under an appropriate alternating current because a considerably larger Peltier heat was required, relative to Joule heat, for estimating the zT precisely. Through the duo-IS method, zT at 300 K was estimated to be 0.126 0.004 and 0.130 0.002 using the Ag epoxy and solder, respectively. The temperature dependence of zT from 300 to 30 K was also estimated, and zT > 0.01 was a practical based on this technique, owing to its signal-noise ratio. The duo-IS method is invaluable for estimating zT in the entire temperature region based on an appropriate configuration.