Thermoelectric properties of LaCo1-xNixO3 polycrystalline samples and epitaxial thin films

Epitaxial thin films of LaCo1-xNixO3 were deposited on MgO (100) substrates by pulsed reactive crossed-beam laser ablation (PRCLA). The electrical transport and thermopower of the epitaxial La(Co,Ni)O-3 thin films were measured in a broad temperature range and their thermoelectric activity was compared with bulk samples. The measured films show positive Seebeck coefficient values indicative of p-type conduction. The thin films display a better thermoelectric performance at high temperatures compared to the polycrystalline samples. (C) 2008 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.