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Enhancing the Thermoelectric Properties of Ca3Co4O9 Thin Films by the Addition of a Nanoscale NbN x Second Phase

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Abstract

High-quality Ca3Co4O9 (CCO) thin films have been epitaxially grown on c-cut Al2O3 single crystal substrates using pulsed laser deposition (PLD). Different doses of Nb ions were injected into the films using an ion beam injection technique, and a nanoscale NbN x second phase was generated in the films after annealing in pure N2. The resistivity and Seebeck coefficient of the films were measured in the temperature range 175–375 K. The results demonstrated that the power factor of the films increases when injected with appropriate quantities of Nb. When the injected Nb concentration was 1.46 × 1020/cm3, the power factor of the film reached 0.17 mW/m K2 at room temperature, which is nearly twice as large as that for pure CCO film. A maximum value of 0.22 mW/m K2 was obtained at 375 K.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Hebei Advanced Thin Films Laboratory, Department of Physics, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang, 050024, People’s Republic of China

    Chunhui Zhu, Zhuangzhi Li, Heping An, Guide Tang & Denglu Hou

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  1. Chunhui Zhu
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  2. Zhuangzhi Li
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  3. Heping An
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  4. Guide Tang
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  5. Denglu Hou
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Correspondence to Zhuangzhi Li.

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Zhu, C., Li, Z., An, H. et al. Enhancing the Thermoelectric Properties of Ca3Co4O9 Thin Films by the Addition of a Nanoscale NbN x Second Phase. J. Electron. Mater. 43, 3666–3671 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-014-3285-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-014-3285-0

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