Fabrication of Highly (0 0 l)-Textured Sb2Te3 Film and Corresponding Thermoelectric Device with Enhanced Performance

An approach for fabrication of highly (0 0 l)-textured Sb2Te3 thin film with layered structure by the magnetron sputtering method is reported. The composition, microstructure, and thermoelectric properties of the thin films have been characterized and measured by x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy, and a thermoelectric (TE) measurement system, respectively. The results show that well-oriented (0 0 l) Sb2Te3 thin film with layered structure is beneficial for improvement of thermoelectric properties, being a promising choice for planar TE devices. The power generation and cooling performance of a layered p-Sb2Te3 film device are superior to those of the ordinary thin-film device. For a typical parallel device with 38 layered Sb2Te3 film elements, the output voltage, maximum power, and corresponding power density are up to 10.3 mV, 11.1 mu W, and 73 mW/cm(2), respectively, for a temperature difference of 76 K. The device can produce a 6.1 K maximum temperature difference at current of 45 mA. The results prove that enhanced microdevice performance can be realized by integrating (0 0 l)-oriented Sb2Te3 thin films with a layered architecture.