Electronic structure, transport, and phonons of SrAgChF (Ch = S, Se, Te): Bulk superlattice thermoelectrics

We report calculations of the electronic structure, vibrational properties, and transport for the p-type semiconductors, SrAgChF (Ch = S, Se, and Te). We find soft phonons with low frequency optical branches intersecting the acoustic modes below 50 cm(-1), indicative of a material with low thermal conductivity. The bands at and near the valence-band maxima are highly two-dimensional, which leads to high thermopowers even at high carrier concentrations, which is a combination that suggests good thermoelectric performance. These materials may be regarded as bulk realizations of superlattice thermoelectrics.