Sb[subscript 2]Te[subscript 3] and Bi[subscript 2]Te[subscript 3] Thin Films Grown by Room-Temperature MBE
- Julich
Sb{sub 2}Te3 and Bi{sub 2}Te3 thin films were grown on SiO{sub 2} and BaF{sub 2} substrates at room temperature using molecular beam epitaxy. Metallic layers with thicknesses of 0.2 nm were alternately deposited at room temperature, and the films were subsequently annealed at 250 C for 2 h. x-Ray diffraction and energy-filtered transmission electron microscopy (TEM) combined with high-accuracy energy-dispersive x-ray spectrometry revealed stoichiometric films, grain sizes of less than 500 nm, and a texture. High-quality in-plane thermoelectric properties were obtained for Sb{sub 2}Te3 films at room temperature, i.e., low charge carrier density (2.6 x 10{sup 19} cm{sup -3}, large thermopower (130 {micro}V K{sup -1}), large charge carrier mobility (402 cm{sup 2} V{sup -1} s{sup -1}), and resulting large power factor (29 {micro}W cm{sup -1} K{sup -2}). Bi{sub 2}Te3 films also showed low charge carrier density (2.7 x 10{sup 19} cm{sup -3}), moderate thermopower (-153 {micro}V K{sup -1}), but very low charge carrier mobility (80 cm{sup 2} V{sup -1} s{sup -1}), yielding low power factor (8 {micro}W cm{sup -1} K{sup -2}). The low mobilities were attributed to Bi-rich grain boundary phases identified by analytical energy-filtered TEM.
- Research Organization:
- Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Advanced Photon Source (APS)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- FOREIGN
- OSTI ID:
- 1051119
- Journal Information:
- J. Electro. Mater., Vol. 41, Issue (6) ; 2012; ISSN 0361-5235
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- ENGLISH
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