State Key Laboratory of High Performance Ceramics and Superfine Microstructure, Shanghai Institute of Ceramics； School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Hohai University
Bismuth telluride based thermoelectric semiconductors are high performance thermoelectric materials over the low to medium temperature range (~300 degree C), which have found important applications in local thermoelectric cooling and precise temperature control in the fields of micro-electronics, computer and aerospace, and have prospect in industrial waste heat recovery for thermoelectric generation. Alloying and doping are effective ways to improve thermoelectric properties of bismuth telluride by enhancing the phonon scattering to reduce the lattice thermal conductivity, and optimizing the carrier concentration to increase power factor. In this article, after brief introduction to the crystal structure and band structure of bismuth telluride, we reviewed the enhancement of thermoelectric properties of bismuth telluride by alloying and doping, the growth of the bismuth telluride crystals as well as the effect of space microgravity on the growth of bismuth telluride crystals by zone melting process. We also prospected the growth of a bismuth telluride based crystal on board the TG-2 Space Lab and its related research.