Comparative studies between the growth characteristics of Bi2Te3 thin films deposited on SiO2, Si(100) and Si(111)
Thin films of Bi2Te3 on SiO2, Si(100) and Si(111) were deposited using a hot wall epitaxy (HWE) system. The growth conditions were optimized by the criterion of the highest mobility. XRD and SEM analysis show that the films obtained were stoichiometric and present a good morphology. No difference was observed between layers deposited on Si(100) and on Si(111): the layers were not sensitive to the initial orientation of silicon. The electrical measurements performed at room temperature show that the quality of layers deposited on SiO2 was better than the quality of layers deposited on Si(100) and Si(111). The figure of merit obtained in the case of the SiO2 substrate was Z = 1.9 × 10−3K−1, which is close to those reported for the monocrystal. The study of the first growing stage shows that the difference obtained between the substrates can be explained by the degree of reactivity of their surfaces.
Thermoelectric Properties of Ag-Doped n-Type (Bi2−xAgxTe3)0.96−(Bi2Se3)0.04 Pseudobinary Alloys
n-Type thermoelectric powders of (Bi2−xAgxTe3)0.96−(Bi2Se3)0.04 (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.05) have been synthesized by mechanical alloying and then consolidated by spark plasma sintering. The analysis results show that the grain size of pure Bi, Te, Ag, and Se powders is decreased to about 1 μm to 0.5 μm after they are mechanically alloyed for 2 h. The power factor of bulk material increases with increasing Ag-doping content, while the trend for the lattice thermal conductivity is the opposite. Bulk (Bi0.99Ag0.04)2(Te0.96Se0.04)3 after milling for 12 h exhibits a higher power factor, lower thermal conductivity, and thus a higher ZT of 0.74 at 373 K.
The amorphous Sb1−xTex system
Abstract Amorphous films of Sb1−xTex, where 0.11 ⩽ x ⩽ 0.86, have been prepared by coevaporation. Crystallization temperatures occur near room temperature for all compositions and appear to depend on film thickness. The optical and transport properties have been investigated as a function of temperature. Optical band gaps at room temperature, Eg, ranged between 0.3 and 0.7 eV and decreased non-linearly with temperature. For the composition Sb2Te3, Eg ≈ 0.7 eV, in contrast to the semimetallic character of the crystalline form. All compositions were p-type with the Fermi level close to the middle of the gap. The results have been interpreted in terms of the chemical bonding.