| This document describes work accomplished in the Pulsed Laser Deposition and Transport Characterization Laboratory of Michigan State University (MSU) where a new measurement system has been developed for testing thermoelectric power generation devices based on new materials. Previous work done at MSU has focused on the search, synthesis, and characterization of new thermoelectric materials. This work extends that effort with a focus on developing the materials into working devices. Device fabrication can be as challenging and important as finding more efficient thermoelectric materials; so, present and future work is weighted more heavily on the fabrication and testing of thermoelectric devices made from the previously synthesized materials, namely the Pb-Sb-Ag-Te based "LAST" material [10, 41]. Thermoelectric devices have their own unique properties apart from the materials that make them, and the measurement systems currently used at MSU to investigate the raw materials lack the abilities to test fabricated devices. Therefore, a new measurement system was developed at MSU to investigate the properties of thermoelectric devices used for power generation applications. This thesis presents an introduction to thermoelectrics, as well as the process of developing the new device measurement system, its abilities and limitations, and results from the system. |
