Electronic structure and thermoelectric properties of In32-xGexO48 (x=0, 1, 2, and 3) at low temperature

The electronic properties of In32-xGexO48 (x= 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7) are studied by using the density functional theory. The transport coefficients of In32-xGexO48 (x= 0, 1, 2, and 3) are then calculated within the semiclassical Boltzmann theory. The largest Seebeck coefficient is nearly seven times larger than that of Bi2Te3. Most strikingly, the thermoelectric power factor with respect to relaxation time is nearly 70 times larger than that of conventional thermoelectric materials. Our theoretical calculations give a valuable insight on how to enhance the thermoelectric performance of In32-xGexO48. (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3529489]