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Instrument for stable high temperature Seebeck coefficient and resistivity measurements under controlled oxygen partial pressure

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Abstract

The transport properties of ceramic materials strongly depend on oxygen activity, which is tuned by changing the partial oxygen pressure (pO2) prior to and during measurement. Within, we describe an instrument for highly stable measurements of Seebeck coefficient and electrical resistivity at temperatures up to 1300 K with controlled oxygen partial pressure. An all platinum construction is used to avoid potential materials instabilities that can cause measurement drift. Two independent heaters are employed to establish a small temperature gradient for Seebeck measurements, while keeping the average temperature constant and avoiding errors associated with pO2-induced drifts in thermocouple readings. Oxygen equilibrium is monitored using both an O2 sensor and the transient behavior of the resistance as a proxy. A pO2 range of 10−25–100 atm can be established with appropriate gas mixtures. Seebeck measurements were calibrated against a high purity platinum wire, Pt/Pt–Rh thermocouple wire, and a Bi2Te3 Seebeck coefficient Standard Reference Material. To demonstrate the utility of this instrument for oxide materials we present measurements as a function of pO2 on a 1 % Nb-doped SrTiO3 single crystal, and show systematic changes in properties consistent with oxygen vacancy defect chemistry. An approximately 11 % increase in power factor over a pO2 range of 10−19–10−8 atm at 973 K for the donor-doped single crystals is observed.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge Kathy Wilkerson for aiding in the preparation of schematics of the measurement system and R.H.T. Wilke for his critical review of this manuscript. This work was funded by the Laboratory Directed Research and Development program at Sandia National Laboratories. Sandia National Laboratories is a multi-program laboratory managed and operated by Sandia Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin Corporation, for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-AC04-94AL85000.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Electronic, Optical, and Nano Materials Department, Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM, 87185, USA

    Harlan J. Brown-Shaklee & Jon F. Ihlefeld

  2. Quantum Phenomena Department, Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM, 87185, USA

    Peter A. Sharma

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  1. Harlan J. Brown-Shaklee
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  2. Peter A. Sharma
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  3. Jon F. Ihlefeld
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Correspondence to Jon F. Ihlefeld.

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Brown-Shaklee, H.J., Sharma, P.A. & Ihlefeld, J.F. Instrument for stable high temperature Seebeck coefficient and resistivity measurements under controlled oxygen partial pressure. J Mater Sci 50, 5005–5013 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-015-9049-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-015-9049-2

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