Nanostructured Thermoelectric PbTe Thin Films with Ag Addition Deposited by Femtosecond Pulsed Laser Ablation

Alessandro Bellucci (), Stefano Orlando, Luca Medici, Antonio Lettino, Alessio Mezzi, Saulius Kaciulis and Daniele Maria Trucchi
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Alessandro Bellucci: Istituto di Struttura della Materia (ISM)—Sez. Montelibretti, DiaTHEMA Laboratory, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Via Salaria km 29.300, 00015 Monterotondo, Italy
Stefano Orlando: Istituto di Struttura della Materia (ISM)—Sez. Tito Scalo, FemtoLab, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Zona Industriale, 85050 Tito, Italy
Luca Medici: Istituto di Metodologie per l’Analisi Ambientale (IMAA), Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Zona Industriale, 85050 Tito, Italy
Antonio Lettino: Istituto di Metodologie per l’Analisi Ambientale (IMAA), Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Zona Industriale, 85050 Tito, Italy
Alessio Mezzi: Istituto per lo Studio dei Materiali Nanostrutturati (ISMN)—Sez. Montelibretti, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Via Salaria km 29.300, 00015 Monterotondo, Italy
Saulius Kaciulis: Istituto per lo Studio dei Materiali Nanostrutturati (ISMN)—Sez. Montelibretti, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Via Salaria km 29.300, 00015 Monterotondo, Italy
Daniele Maria Trucchi: Istituto di Struttura della Materia (ISM)—Sez. Montelibretti, DiaTHEMA Laboratory, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Via Salaria km 29.300, 00015 Monterotondo, Italy

Energies, 2023, vol. 16, issue 7, 1-14

Abstract: Pulsed laser deposition operated by an ultra-short laser beam was used to grow in a vacuum and at room temperature natively nanostructured thin films of lead telluride (PbTe) for thermoelectric applications. Different percentages of silver (Ag), from 0.5 to 20% of nominal concentration, were added to PbTe deposited on polished technical alumina substrates using a multi-target system. The surface morphology and chemical composition were analyzed by Scanning Electron Microscope and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy, whereas the structural characteristics were investigated by X-ray Diffraction. Electrical resistivity as a function of the sample temperature was measured by the four-point probe method by highlighting a typical semiconducting behavior, apart from the sample with the maximum Ag concentration acting as a degenerate semiconductor, whereas the Seebeck coefficient measurements indicate n-type doping for all the samples. The power factor values (up to 14.9 µW cm −1 K −2 at 540 K for the nominal 10% Ag concentration sample) are competitive for low-power applications on flexible substrates, also presuming the achievement of a large reduction in the thermal conductivity thanks to the native nanostructuring.

Keywords: thermoelectric properties; nanostructuring; pulsed fs-laser deposition; lead telluride (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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