| 摘要 |
PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce thermal conductivity and to improve performance or the Seebeck coefficient by melting additive elements in Si separately or in combination, such that the Si contains a predetermined amount of additive elements and by rapidly cooling the molten substance to form a phase which is rich in the additive elements at the grain boundary rich in Si, where Si is the main component. SOLUTION: Additive elements for making a p-type or n-type semiconductor are melted in Si separately or in combination, such that Si contains 0.001 atom% to 20 atom% additive elements, and the melted substance is rapidly cooled to form a phase rich in the additive elements at the grain boundary rich in Si, where the Si is the main component. In short, a texture in which a phase rich in the additive elements is dispersed and formed at the grain boundary rich in Si of a Si-based thermoelectric conversion material is obtained by controlling the cooling rate after melting, and rapid cooling restrains the grain size to be comparatively small and moderate segregation of the additive elements except for Si at the grain boundary takes place, which produces high Seebeck coefficient in spite of high electrical conductivity.
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