DOE PAGES title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Correlating thermoelectric properties with microstructure in Bi 0.8 Sb 0.2 thin films

Journal Article · · Applied Physics Letters
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4979785 · OSTI ID:1357018

The room temperature electronic transport properties of 100 nm-thick thermoelectric Bi0.8Sb0.2 films, sputter-deposited onto quartz substrates and post-annealed in an ex-situ furnace, systematically correlate with the overall microstructural quality, improving with increasing annealing temperature until close to the melting point for the alloy composition. Furthermore, the optimized films have high crystalline quality with ~99% of the grains oriented with the trigonal axis perpendicular to the substrate surface. Film resistivities and Seebeck coefficients are accurately measured by preventing deleterious surface oxide formation via a SiN capping layer and using Nd-doped Al for contacts. Our resulting values are similar to single crystals and significantly better than previous reports from films and polycrystalline bulk alloys.

Research Organization:
Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC04-94AL85000
OSTI ID:
1357018
Report Number(s):
SAND2017--0986J; 650830
Journal Information:
Applied Physics Letters, Journal Name: Applied Physics Letters Journal Issue: 14 Vol. 110; ISSN 0003-6951
Publisher:
American Institute of Physics (AIP)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

References (28)

Mobilities and Concentrations of Charge Carriers in Polycrystalline Bi0.87Sb0.13 Films journal November 1990
Transport properties of Bi 1 − x Sb x alloy thin films grown on CdTe ( 111 ) B journal April 1999
Thermoelectric figure of merit of a one-dimensional conductor journal June 1993
Thermoelectric Properties of Bismuth‐Antimony Alloys journal March 1962
Sb concentration dependent structural and resistive properties of polycrystalline Bi-Sb alloys journal October 2012
The crystal structure of arsenic at 4.2, 78 and 299°K journal May 1969
Material Design Considerations Based on Thermoelectric Quality Factor book January 2013
Controlling compositional homogeneity and crystalline orientation in Bi 0.8 Sb 0.2 thermoelectric thin films journal December 2015
Topotactical reactions with ferrimagnetic oxides having hexagonal crystal structures—I journal February 1959
Galvanomagnetic properties of single-crystal bismuth-antimony thin films journal March 1990
Sb concentration dependent structural and resistive properties of polycrystalline Bi-Sb alloys text January 2012
Assembly and measurement of a hybrid nanowire-bulk thermoelectric device journal December 2006
The crystal structure of Bi and of solid solutions of Pb, Sn, Sb and Te in Bi journal September 1962
Transport properties of Bi-RICH Bi-Sb alloys journal January 1996
Making electrical contacts to nanowires with a thick oxide coating journal September 2002
Using galvanostatic electroforming of Bi 1– x Sb x nanowires to control composition, crystallinity, and orientation journal December 2014
Thermoelectric properties of Bi–Sb semiconducting alloys prepared by quenching and annealing journal July 2004
The Semiconductor–Semimetal Transition in Bi1−xSbx Alloys withx ≧ 0.22 journal July 1978
Transport properties of Bi1−xSbx alloy nanowires synthesized by pressure injection journal July 2001
Anomalously high thermoelectric figure of merit in Bi1−xSbx nanowires by carrier pocket alignment journal July 2001
Improving Bi 2 Te 3 -based thermoelectric nanowire microstructure via thermal processing journal January 2014
Effect of Nd on microstructure and mechanical properties of NiAl-based intermetallic alloy journal February 2003
Effects of Y or Gd addition on the structures and resistivities of Al thin films journal July 1996
Recrystallized Arrays of Bismuth Nanowires with Trigonal Orientation journal March 2014
Semiconducting behavior in antimony‐doped bismuth films journal May 1981
Thermoelectric and magnetotransport properties of Bi 1- x Sb x thin films and Bi/CdTe superlattices journal January 1999
BiSb alloys for magneto-thermoelectric and thermomagnetic cooling journal October 1972
Thermodynamic evaluation of the system bismuth-antimony journal April 1992