Scattering anisotropy effect on layered thermoelectric materials

The effect of scattering anisotropy caused by mass anisotropy on the thermoelectric figure of merit is investigated. The simplest electron transport model is considered assuming a single-band, parabolic energy dispersion relation and ionized impurity scattering, which is assumed to be elastic. The wave-vector dependence of the relaxation time is fully considered within the relaxation-time approximation. Transport coefficients are calculated using the anisotropic relaxation time at finite temperatures. The figure of merit perpendicular to the axis with the largest effective mass is shown to decrease as the effective mass ratio increases. This result indicates that the weak confinement of electrons into layers of bulk materials cannot be the direct cause of the enhancement of the figure of merit along the layers.