Pulsed laser deposition and thermoelectric properties of In-and Yb-doped CoSb3 skutterudite thin films

S. R. Sarath Kumar, Ahmed Y. Alyamani, Jennifer W. Graff, Terry M. Tritt, Husam N. Alshareef

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

23 Scopus citations

Abstract

In-and Yb-doped CoSb3 thin films were prepared by pulsed laser deposition. Process optimization studies revealed that a very narrow process window exists for the growth of single-phase skutterudite films. The electrical conductivity and Seebeck coefficient measured in the temperature range 300-700 K revealed an irreversible change on the first heating cycle in argon ambient, which is attributed to the enhanced surface roughness of the films or trace secondary phases. A power factor of 0.68 W m-1 K-1 was obtained at ∼700 K, which is nearly six times lower than that of bulk samples. This difference is attributed to grain boundary scattering that causes a drop in film conductivity. Copyright © Materials Research Society 2011.
Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1836-1841
Number of pages6
JournalJournal of Materials Research
Volume26
Issue number15
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 29 2011

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Mechanics of Materials
  • General Materials Science
  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Condensed Matter Physics

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