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A Study on the Characteristics of Mg2Si Films Prepared by Electron Beam Evaporation Technique

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Abstract

Thin film-based thermoelectric materials have attracted enormous research interest due to their potential to exhibit excellent thermoelectric (TE) behavior. Considering the potential of earth-abundant and nontoxic magnesium silicide (Mg2Si) to behave as a mid-temperature TE material, the present study was conducted to assess the structural evolution and electrical behavior of Mg2Si films prepared by electron beam thin film deposition technique. The films were deposited on silicon (100) substrate at room temperature with thickness ranging from 0.5 µm to 4 µm. The investigation revealed that the electrical behavior of this alloy film is considerably influenced by its thickness. The effect of film thickness on evolution of the structure was also studied by x-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and Raman spectroscopy. It was observed that the present experimentation could produce a nanocrystalline grain structure of Mg2Si alloy with a small quantity of excess magnesium phase. Moreover, XRD results delineated that the crystallite size is influenced by the thickness of the film under the same deposition conditions. The residual stress within the e-beam-deposited film, as manifested through the measured strain values of the films, was found to be thickness-dependent. Moreover, it was confirmed that there was no influence of the substrate on the structure and properties of the studied films.

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Acknowledgments

This work is part of the project UFR. no. 62334 by the Inter-University Accelerator Centre, UGC. The authors would like to acknowledge the Material Research Centre, MNITJ, for synthesis and all the characterizations.

Funding

The work was funded by the Inter-University Accelerator Centre, UGC, in a project grant UFR. no. 62334.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics, Malaviya National Institute of Technology, Jaipur, Rajasthan, 302017, India

    Suniksha Gupta & K. Sachdev

  2. Materials Research Centre, Malaviya National Institute of Technology, Jaipur, 302017, India

    Smita Howlader, Atul Sharma & K. Sachdev

  3. Material Science Division, Inter-University Accelerator Centre, Aruna Asaf Ali Marg, New Delhi, 110067, India

    K. Asokan

  4. Suresh Gyan Vihar University, Jaipur, 302017, India

    M. K. Banerjee

Authors
  1. Suniksha Gupta
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  2. Smita Howlader
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  3. Atul Sharma
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  4. K. Asokan
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  5. M. K. Banerjee
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  6. K. Sachdev
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Correspondence to K. Sachdev.

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Gupta, S., Howlader, S., Sharma, A. et al. A Study on the Characteristics of Mg2Si Films Prepared by Electron Beam Evaporation Technique. J. Electron. Mater. 51, 3226–3236 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-022-09568-w

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