Thermoelectric properties of MnSi1.7

Higher manganese silicide (MnSi1.7) bulk and thin-film materials have been prepared by the hot-pressed and electron-beam evaporation methods, respectively. The Seebeck coefficient, electrical resistivity, and thermal conductivity (for bulk material only) are measured from room temperature to 783 K. The un-doped bulk and thin-film MnSi1.7 are p-type. The figure of merit, ZT, of the bulk material can be reached to 0.29 at 723 K. N-type MnSi1.7 film can be obtained by addition of iron into the film. It is found that the thermoelectric properties of n-type MnSi1.7 are better than those of p-type MnSi1.7, which is consistent with the recent theoretical prediction.