Ion-induced n-p inversion of conductivity in TiNiSn compound for thermoelectric applications

Density functional theory calculations of the electronic properties of TiNiSn compound with point defects in the form of vacancies have shown that the formation of titanium vacancies may lead to n-p inversion of the type of conductivity in these materials. In this paper, the possibility of ion-induced formation of Sn clusters in TiNiSn is demonstrated. Furthermore, conditions of ionic irradiation of this compound that can lead to improvement in the thermoelectric parameters of this material are proposed.