Table 1
Typical physical properties and figure of merits of candidate materials (300 K)
Materials	S(μV/K)	ρ(Ωm)	κ(W/m K)	ZT
Cr	18.8	1.27E − 7	93.9	8.9E − 3
Ni	−18	7E − 8	90.9	1.5E − 2
Al	−1.7	2.65E − 8	237	1.4E − 4
Sia	Approximately −450	1.4	132	3.3E − 7
poly-Sia	Approximately −1,200	0.36	135	8.9E − 6
n-poly-Sib	−57	8.1E − 6	31.5	3.8E − 3
p-poly-Sib	103	2.2E − 5	31.2	4.6E − 3
n-poly-SiGeb	−77	2.4E − 5	9.4	7.9E − 3
p-poly-SiGeb	59	1.9E − 5	11.1	5.0E − 3

^aThe samples of Si and poly-Si have intrinsic N-type impurities [17]; ^bthe doping concentration was 2.5E20 atoms/cm³[18].

Liu et al. Nanoscale Research Letters 2012 7:484   doi:10.1186/1556-276X-7-484