Laterally Assembled Ga2Te3/In2Te3 Hetero-Nanostructures for Thermoelectric Applications

Hetero-nanostructuring has been theoretically and experimentally proven as a practical strategy to enhance the thermoelectric figure of merit, ZT (defined as σS2T /κ) via largely creating various nanoscaled heterogeneous interfaces which could not only effectively scatter phonons to have a much lower thermal conductivity, but potentially activate the electron filtering phenomenon for simultaneously improving the Seebeck coefficient and electrical conductivity. In this presentation, a series of laterally- and periodically-assembled Ga2Te3/In and Ga2Te3/In2Te3 hetero- nanocomposite films were successfully fabricated using pulsed laser deposition (PLD) with subsequent various annealing processes. The distinct interfacial structures as well as the corresponding enhanced thermoelectric properties will be discussed.

Keywords: thermoelectric, heterostructure, assembly, nanocomposite, pulsed laser deposition