Ultrasound characterization of nanostructured Bi2Te3 -based thermoelectrics

We created nanostructured thermoelectric Bi2Te3-family materials by high energy (ball milling) pre-treatment of the parent materials, such as p-type polycrystalline bismuth telluride with different dopants, followed by high-pressure/high-temperature treatment. Acoustic microscopy was used to study elastic properties and bulk irregularities of the parent materials and of the created nanostructured samples. The data was used for optimization parameters of syntetis nanostructured thermoelectrics.