Synthesis and Evaluation of Thermoelectric Multilayer Films

TitleSynthesis and Evaluation of Thermoelectric Multilayer Films
Publication TypeProceedings Article
Year of Conference1996
AuthorsWagner A, Foreman RJ, Summers LJ, Barbee TW, Farmer JC
Conference NameInternational Conference on Thermoelectrics, ICT96, Proceedings
Series TitleProceedings of the 1996 15th International Conference on Thermoelectrics, ICT'96
Pagination459-463
Conference Start Date1996 Mar 26-29
Conference LocationPasadena, CA USA
EditorFleurial J-P
Abstract

The deposition of compositionally modulated (Bi1-xSbx)2(Te1-ySey)3 thermoelectric multilayer films by magnetron sputtering has been demonstrated. Structures with a period of 140 A are shown to be stable to interdiffusion at the high deposition temperatures necessary for growth of single-layer crystalline films with ZT>0.5. These multilayers are of the correct dimension to exhibit the electronic properties of quantum well structures. Furthermore it is shown that the Seebeck coefficient of the films is not degraded by the presense of this multilayer structure. It may be possible to synthesize a multilayer thermoelectric material with enhanced ZT by maximizing the barrier height through optimization of the composition of the barrier.

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