THERMOELECTRIC MATERIAL, THERMOELECTRIC CONVERTER USING SAME, AND ELECTRONIC DEVICE AND COOLING DEVICE COMPRISING SUCH THERMOELECTRIC CONVERTER

摘要

Disclosed is a thermoelectric material having a semiconductive temperature dependence, namely having such a characteristic that the electrical resistivity thereof decreases as the temperature thereof increases. This thermoelectric material exhibits higher thermoelectric performance than the conventional thermoelectric materials. Specifically disclosed is a thermoelectric material containing a substance having a lamellar bronze structure represented by the following formula: (Bi<SUB>2</SUB>A<SUB>2</SUB>O<SUB>4</SUB>)<SUB>0.5</SUB>(Co<SUB>1-x</SUB>Rh<SUB>x</SUB>)O<SUB>2</SUB>. In the formula, A represents an alkaline earth metal element, and x represents a number not less than 0.4 but not more than 0.8. The thermoelectric material exhibits good thermoelectric characteristics over a wide temperature range.