Pulsed laser deposition of Bi 2 Te 3 thermoelectric films

A. Bailini, F. Donati, M. Zamboni, V. Russo, M. Passoni, C. S. Casari, A. Li Bassi, C. E. Bottani

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

88 Scopus citations

Abstract

Bi 2 Te 3 is one of the most used materials for thermoelectric applications at ambient temperature. An improvement of thermoelectric performances through a suitable modification of electron and phonon transport mechanisms is predicted for low dimensional or nanostructured systems, but this requires a control of the material structure down to the nanoscale. We show that pulsed laser deposition provides control on film composition, phase and structure, necessary for a comprehension of the relationship between structure and thermoelectric properties. We have explored the role of deposition temperature, background inert gas type and pressure, laser fluence and target-to-substrate distance and we found the experimental condition ranges to obtain crystalline films containing the Bi 2 Te 3 phase only, by comparing energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis. Variations of substrate temperature and deposition gas pressure prove to be crucial also for the control of film morphology and crystallinity. Substrate type has no influence on film stoichiometry and crystallinity, but highly oriented growth can be achieved on mica due to van der Waals epitaxy.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1249-1254
Number of pages6
JournalApplied Surface Science
Volume254
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - 15 Dec 2007

Keywords

  • Bi Te
  • Pulsed laser deposition (PLD)
  • Raman spectroscopy
  • Thermoelectric thin films
  • X-ray diffraction

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