Thin films of the semiconducting compound Mg2Ge were deposited by magnetron cosputtering from source targets of high-purity Mg and Ge onto glass substrates at temperatures T s = 300°C to 700°C. X-ray diffraction shows that the Mg2Ge compound begins to form at a substrate temperature T s ≈ 300°C. Films deposited at T s = 400°C to 600°C are single-phase Mg2Ge and have strong x-ray peaks. At higher T s the films tend to be dominated by a Ge-rich phase primarily due to the loss of magnesium vapor from the condensing film.␣At optimum deposition temperatures, 550°C to 600°C, films have an electrical conductivity σ 600 K = 20 Ω−1 cm−1 to 40 Ω−1 cm−1 and a Seebeck coefficient α = 300 μV K−1 to 450 μV K−1 over a broad temperature range of 200 K to 600 K.
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Chuang, L., Savvides, N. & Li, S. Magnetron Deposition of In Situ Thermoelectric Mg2Ge Thin Films. J. Electron. Mater. 38, 1008–1012 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-009-0690-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-009-0690-x