Seebeck coefficient measurement by Kelvin-probe force microscopy

In order to measure the Seebeck coefficient of nanometer-scale thermoelectric materials, we propose a new technique in which the thermoelectric-motive force (TEMF) is evaluated by Kelvin-probe force microscopy (KFM). In this study, we measured the Seebeck coefficient of an n-type Si wafer. The surface-potential difference between the high- and low-temperature regions on the Si wafer increases with increasing temperature difference. This indicates that the TEMF can be measured by KFM. The Seebeck coefficient evaluated from the surface-potential difference is 0.71š0.08 mV/K, which is close to that obtained by the conventional method.