Fabrication of Bi2Te3/Sb2Te3 and Bi2Te3/Bi2Te2Se multilayered thin film-based integrated cooling devices

In this article, the authors report on the development of solid-state integrated cooling devices using Bi2Te3/Sb2Te3 and Bi2Te3/Bi2Te2Se thermoelectric thin films fabricated using sputtering deposition. The multilayer thin films have a periodic structure consisting of alternating Bi2Te3 and Sb2Te3 layers or Bi2Te3 and Bi2Te2Se layers, where each layer is about 10 nm thick. The deposited Bi2Te3/Sb2Te3 multilayer thin film has a p-type conductivity and the deposited Bi2Te3/Bi2Te2Se multilayer thin film has an n-type conductivity. The multilayer structure of films and the interface of layers were analyzed by x-ray diffraction and reflectivity. Bi2Te3/Sb2Te3 and Bi2Te3/Bi2Te2Se multilayer thin film-based integrated cooling devices were fabricated using standard integrated circuit fabrication process. The temperature difference was measured from the fabricated cooling devices. The devices could be good candidates for the application of high-efficiency solid-state microcooling. (C) 2010 American Vacuum Society. [DOI: 10.1116/1.3292600]