High-temperature characteristics of Seebeck coefficients for AlInN alloys grown by metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy

The Seebeck coeeficients of AlInN alloys, grown by metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy, with In-contents (x) from 0.38% up to 21.34%, were characterized and analyzed from room temperature (T = 300 K) up to high temperature (T = 382 K). The Seebeck coefficients of the n-type AlInN alloys show significant enhancement at higher temperature up to 382 K, in comparison to those measured at room temperature. Large Seebeck coefficients (602.0- 1233.2 mu V/K) were obtained for the lattice-matched Al(0.83)In(0.17)N alloy (n = 5.1 x 10(18) cm(-3)) from T = 300 K up to T = 382 K. The improvement of Seebeck coefficients for the n-type AlInN alloys will lead to similar to 1.5-4 times improvement of the thermopower at higher temperatures. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi: 10.1063/1.3624761]