Claims
- 1. A method of forming a thermoelectric material comprising the steps of:
providing a three-dimensional, crystalline precursor comprising a plurality of atoms presenting a crystal lattice and a first molecule bonded to at least one of said atoms;
perturbing said precursor so as to release said first molecule from said precursor; and contacting said precursor with a vapor comprising a second molecule under conditions whereby said second molecule replaces said first molecule in said precursor so as to yield a thermoelectric material having a ZT of at least about 2.
- 2. The method of claim 1, wherein said precursor comprises a body-centered crystal.
- 3. The method of claim 2, wherein said precursor comprises a skutterudite.
- 4. The method of claim 3, wherein said first molecule is selected from the group consisting of La, Ce, Pr, Nd, and Eu.
- 5. The method of claim 3, wherein said second molecule is selected from the group consisting of Pb, Hg, Sn, In, Tl, and Ga.
- 6. The method of claim 3, wherein said atoms are selected from the group consisting of Fe, Ru, Os, P, As, and Sb.
- 7. The method of claim 1, wherein said perturbing step comprises heating said precursor.
- 8. The method of claim 7, wherein said perturbing step comprises heating said precursor to at least about 800° C.
- 9. The method of claim 1, wherein said contacting and perturbing steps are carried out essentially simultaneously.
- 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the crystalline structure of said precursor remains essentially unaltered during said providing, perturbing and contacting steps.
- 11. The method of claim 1, wherein the thermoelectric material resulting from said contacting step has a κlattice of less than about 0.012 W/cm-K.
- 12. A method of fabricating an Hg-containing film superconductor comprising the steps of:
providing a body comprising a substrate having a Tl-based superconducting film supported on a surface thereof; and annealing said body in the presence of Hg vapor under conditions whereby at least a portion of the Tl of said superconducting film is replaced by Hg to form said Hg-containing film.
- 13. The method of claim 12, including the step of carrying out said annealing at a temperature of from about 600-900° C. for a period of from about 1-20 hours.
- 14. The method of claim 13, said temperature being from about 640-800° C., and said period being from about 2-15 hours.
- 15. The method of claim 12, said annealing step comprising the steps of placing said body in a tube along with an Hg-containing superconducting pellet, drawing a vacuum in said tube, closing the ends thereof, and placing the closed tube in an annealing furnace.
- 16. The method of claim 12, said Tl-based superconducting film being selected from the group consisting of Tl-1212, Tl-2212, Tl-1223 and Tl-2223 films.
- 17. The method of claim 12, said Hg-containing film being selected from the group consisting of Hg-1212 and Hg-1223 films.
- 18. The method of claim 12, said Hg-containing film having a thickness of from about 0.005-500 μm.
- 19. The method of claim 18, said thickness being from about 0.1-1 μm.
- 20. The method of claim 12, said Hg-containing film having a Jc of at least about 106 A/cm2 at 100K and zero magnetic field.
- 21. The method of claim 12, said Hg-containing film having a Xmin of up to about 50%.
- 22. The method of claim 21, said Xmin being from about 10-40%.
- 23. The method of claim 12, further including the step of removing at least part of said Tl-based superconducting film to form bridges prior to said annealing step.
- 24. The method of claim 23, wherein said removing step comprises:
applying a photoresist composition over said Tl-based superconducting film; exposing said photoresist composition to activating radiation; developing said exposed photoresist composition layer; and etching said developed photoresist composition layer.
- 25. The method of claim 12, said film having a microwave surface resistance of less than about 0.4 mΩ at 120K.
- 26. An Hg-1212 epitaxial film superconductor having a Jc of at least about 106 A/cm2 at 100K and zero magnetic field.
- 27. The film of claim 26, said film having a thickness of from about 0.005-500 μm.
- 28. The film of claim 27, said thickness being from about 0.1-1 μm.
- 29. The film of claim 26, said film being HgBa2CaCu2O where x ranges from about 5.8-6.2.
- 30. An Hg-containing epitaxial film superconductor having a Xmin of up to about 50%.
- 31. The film of claim 30, said film having a thickness of from about 0.005-500 μMm.
- 32. The film of claim 31, said thickness being from about 0.1-1 μm.
- 33. The film of claim 30, said film being HgBa2Ca2Cu3Ox where x ranges from about 7.8-8.2.
- 34. The film of claim 30, said film having a Jc of at least about 106 A/cm2 at 100K and zero magnetic field.
- 35. An Hg-containing epitaxial film superconductor having a transport Jc of at least about 106 A/cm2 at 100K and zero magnetic field.
- 36. The film of claim 35, said film having a thickness of from about 0.005-500 μm.
- 37. The film of claim 36, said thickness being from about 0.1-1 μm.
- 38. The film of claim 35, said film having a transport Jc of at least about 2×106 A/cm2 at 100K and zero magnetic field.
- 39. The film of claim 38, said film having a transport Jc of at least about 2.3×106 A/cm2 at 100K and zero magnetic field.
- 40. The film of claim 35, said film being in the form of micro-bridges having a width of from about 2-10 μm.
- 41. The film of claim 40, said film micro-bridges having a transport Jc of at least about 2.3×106 A/cm2 at 100K and zero magnetic field.
- 42. An Hg-containing epitaxial film superconductor having a microwave surface resistance of less than about 0.4 mΩ at 120K.
- 43. The film of claim 42, said film being an Hg-1212 film.
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a divisional of application Ser. No. 09/427,428, filed Oct. 26, 1999, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/299,200, filed Apr. 23, 1999, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/067,401, filed Apr. 27,1998, now abandoned.
Divisions (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09427428 |
Oct 1999 |
US |
Child |
09843964 |
Apr 2001 |
US |
Continuation in Parts (2)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09299200 |
Apr 1999 |
US |
Child |
09427428 |
Oct 1999 |
US |
Parent |
09067401 |
Apr 1998 |
US |
Child |
09299200 |
Apr 1999 |
US |