Influence on the thermoelectric characteristics of the growth parameters of BiSeTe thin films

This study systematically investigates the influence of magnetron sputtering parameters on the structural, electronic, and thermoelectric properties of 100 nm thick Bi2SexTe3-x thin films deposited on Si(100). The initial parameters for applied film deposition are used to set the x value. The films are fabricated with sputtering powers ranging from 30 to 100 W and pressures from 3 to 15 mTorr, with films grown under optimal conditions selected for post-deposition annealing at 523 K. A comprehensive characterization suite, including X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM), is used to establish direct correlations between processing, structure, and performance. XRD analysis reveals that increasing the sputtering pressure from 3 to 15 mTorr was critical for enhancing film crystallinity and promoting a strong (015) preferred orientation, while AFM showed a corresponding increase in average grain size from similar to 46 to similar to 60 nm via heat treatment (HT). EDS shows that films grown at 10 mTorr were almost certainly stoichiometric, but increasing the power to 15 mTorr caused tellurium deficiency. The films exhibited a power factor ranging from 2.5 to 2.8 mW m(- 1) K- 2 at 40 degrees C. HT improved the Seebeck coefficient from -115 mu V K- 1 to -140 mu V K- 1 and decreased the electrical resistivity by over 25 % through defect reduction and enhanced crystalline order. KPFM supported these findings, directly linking the crystallographic texture to the surface electronic structure and enhanced Seebeck effect.