Thermoelectric Properties of Al-Doped ZnO Thin Films

We have prepared 2 % Al-doped ZnO (AZO) thin films on SrTiO3 substrates by a pulsed laser deposition technique at various deposition temperatures (T (dep) = 300-600 A degrees C). The thermoelectric properties of AZO thin films were studied in a low temperature range (300-600 K). Thin film deposited at 300 A degrees C is fully c-axis-oriented and presents electrical conductivity 310 S/cm with Seebeck coefficient -65 mu V/K and power factor 0.13 x 10(-3) Wm(-1) K-2 at 300 K. The performance of thin films increases with temperature. For instance, the power factor is enhanced up to 0.55 x 10(-3) Wm(-1) K-2 at 600 K, surpassing the best AZO film previously reported in the literature.