  Based on the concept of band bending at metal/semiconductor interfaces as an
energy filter for electrons, we present a theory for the enhancement of the
thermoelectric properties of semiconductor materials with metallic
nanoinclusions. We show that the Seebeck coefficient can be significantly
increased due to a strongly energy-dependent electronic scattering time. By
including phonon scattering, we find that the enhancement of ZT due to electron
scattering is important for high doping, while at low doping it is primarily
due to a decrease in the phonon thermal conductivity.
