Hybridization of electronic band structure and enhancement of thermoelectric properties of ZnSb thin film by In doping

Publication date: April 2017
Source:Journal of Physics and Chemistry of Solids, Volume 103
Author(s): Zhuang-hao Zheng, Ping Fan, Jing-ting Luo, Guang-xing Liang
Here we report the In doped ZnSb thermoelectric thin films which were deposited by direct current magnetron co-sputtering with prefabricate layer doping method. The X-ray diffraction result indicates that the peaks of the In doped ZnSb thin films are related to ZnSb phase and are slightly shifted to smaller angle. The calculations of In occupy one of the Sb or Zn location in normal site were performed based on the first-principles and it has lower total energy when the In substitutes the Zn. The thermo-electrical testing experimental results indicate that the Seebeck coefficient increases greatly after In doped due to increase of the total density of states and the complicate of the electronic band structure. The Fermi surface moves to the valence band after In doped that will reduce the electrical conductivity and it corresponds to the testing result. It can be observed that the power factor of the In doped ZnSb is approach two times than that of the thin film without doping.

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