Thermoelectric properties of n-type Bi2Te2.7Se0.3 and p-type Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3 thin films deposited by direct current magnetron sputtering

Abstract n-type and p-type thermoelectric thin films have been deposited by direct current magnetron sputtering from n-type Bi2Te2.7Se0.3 and p-type Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3 targets on glass and Al2O3 substrates. X-ray diffraction and energy dispersive spectrometry combined with electrical measurements such as Seebeck coefficient and electrical resistivity were used for the thermoelectric thin films characterization. It was found that the composition of the sputtered thin films was close to the sputtering target stoichiometry for the tested deposition conditions and that the thin film composition did not seem to be the determinant parameter for the thermoelectrical properties. Indeed, the chamber pressure and plasma power have a greater influence on the thermoelectrical performances of the films. Annealing in Ar atmosphere (250 °C for n-type and 300 °C for p-type films) enhanced the film crystallization and yield power factors higher than 1 mW/K2 m.

[1]  Dong-Ho Kim,et al.  Effect of rapid thermal annealing on thermoelectric properties of bismuth telluride films grown by co-sputtering , 2006 .

[2]  A. Giani,et al.  Flash evaporated layers of (Bi2Te3–Bi2Se3)(N) and (Bi2Te3–Sb2Te3)(P) , 1998 .

[3]  G. Brun,et al.  Comparative studies between the growth characteristics of Bi2Te3 thin films deposited on SiO2, Si(100) and Si(111) , 1996 .

[4]  H. Scherrer,et al.  Pulsed laser deposition of Bi2Te3 thin films , 1996 .

[5]  Frédérick Mailly,et al.  Micromachined thermal inclinometer based on flash evaporated Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3 (p)/Bi2Se0.3Te2.7(n) thermocouples , 2004 .

[6]  A. Boyer,et al.  Properties of thin film thermoelectric materials: application to sensors using the Seebeck effect , 1992 .

[7]  P. Ganesan,et al.  Electrical conduction studies on thin films , 1997 .

[8]  Alain Giani,et al.  Growth of Bi2Te3 and Sb2Te3 thin films by MOCVD , 1999 .

[9]  J. Ketterson,et al.  Structural and thermoelectric properties in (Sb1-xBix)2Te3 thin films , 2004 .

[10]  R. Venkatasubramanian,et al.  Thin-film thermoelectric devices with high room-temperature figures of merit , 2001, Nature.

[11]  D. M. Rowe,et al.  Peltier effect in a co-evaporated Sb2Te3(P)-Bi2Te3(N) thin film thermocouple , 2002 .

[12]  Dongho Kim,et al.  Effect of deposition temperature on the structural and thermoelectric properties of bismuth telluride thin films grown by co-sputtering , 2006 .

[13]  Kaoru Sato,et al.  The thermoelectric properties and crystallography of Bi‐Sb‐Te‐Se thin films grown by ion beam sputtering , 1993 .

[14]  A. Lopez‐Otero,et al.  Hot wall epitaxy , 1978 .

[15]  Pascal Ancey,et al.  Elaboration of Bi2Te3 by metal organic chemical vapor deposition , 1997 .

[16]  Hsin Wang,et al.  Microstructure and Thermoelectric Properties of p-Type Bi 0.5 Sb 1.5 Te 3 and n-Type Bi 2 Te 2.7 Se 0.3 Films Deposited by Pulsed Laser Ablation , 2001 .

[17]  U. Dillner,et al.  Transport properties of flash-evaporated (Bi1 − xSbx)2Te3 films I: Optimization of film properties , 1990 .

[18]  Effect of substrate temperature on crystal growth of Bi2Te3 on single crystal Sb2Te3 , 1994 .

[19]  Jerry R. Meyer,et al.  Structural and thermoelectric transport properties of Sb2Te3 thin films grown by molecular beam epitaxy , 2002 .

[20]  M. Takashiri,et al.  Fabrication and characterization of Bi0.4Te3.0Sb1.6 thin films by flash evaporation method , 2007 .