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Influence of vapor annealing on the thermoelectric properties of electrodeposited Bi2Te3

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Abstract

This research investigates the combination of electrochemical deposition and postdeposition vapor annealing as a method for the fabrication of Bi2Te3 layers. The galvanostatic deposition of Bi2Te3 thin films is characterized as a function of electrolyte composition and deposition-current density. Material with near-stoichiometric composition can be synthesized from electrolytes containing 20 mM Te and 30 mM Bi ions and a deposition-current density of 3.75 mA/cm2. All deposited samples show n-type behavior with Seebeck coefficients around −55 μV/K. An equilibrium annealing process in Te atmosphere is used to readjust the composition of the material after the deposition, consistently leading to tellurium-rich Bi2Te3 with a Te content of 60.4 ± 0.4 at%. At a temperature of 250 °C, an annealing duration of 60 h is sufficient for the material properties to reach a steady state, with a Seebeck coefficient of −130 μV/K.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This research was supported by the DFG under Grant No. GRK 1322. The authors thank Dr. Harald Böttner (Fraunhofer IPM, Freiburg) for performing some of the annealing experiments and Prof. Clotilde Boulanger (Université Paul Verlaine, Metz) for helping with the electrolyte chemistry.

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  1. Department of Microsystems Engineering–IMTEK, University of Freiburg, 79110, Freiburg, Germany

    Raimar Rostek, Vladimir Sklyarenko & Peter Woias

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  1. Raimar Rostek
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  2. Vladimir Sklyarenko
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  3. Peter Woias
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Correspondence to Raimar Rostek or Peter Woias.

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Rostek, R., Sklyarenko, V. & Woias, P. Influence of vapor annealing on the thermoelectric properties of electrodeposited Bi2Te3. Journal of Materials Research 26, 1785–1790 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1557/jmr.2011.141

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1557/jmr.2011.141

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