A semi-classical model for the thermoelectric properties of cubic SnSe

In this report two models for the thermoelectric effect were presented and applied to two materials. The first one focusses on using nano-structures to improve the thermoelectric properties of PbTe. It uses the relaxation time approximation for the dynamics of the electrons and quantum mechanics for the effects of the barriers. The second model uses a crude model of the density of states to calculate the thermoelectric properties of the cubic form of SnSe. It is found that the power factor has a local maximum for temperatures around 100K at a Fermi-energy just outside of the bandgap.