Enhancing the Thermoelectric Power Factor by Using Invisible Dopants

Nanoparticle dopants that are invisible to conduction electrons and have sharp dips in their electron scattering rate versus electron energy close to the Fermi level. Replacement of such dopants with traditional impurities results in simultaneous enhancement of the Seebeck coefficient and the electron mobility and therefore a large enhancement in the thermoelectric power factor can be achieved.