Thermoelectric Bi2Te3 thin films were synthesized by a co-sputtering method at 300℃. A Fe dopant was considered to enhance the thermoelectric properties of the system. The Seebeck coefficient of the Fe-doped films increased whereas the electrical conductivity decreased. As a result, the power factor of the system increased owing to the enhanced Seebeck coefficient. Grain growth inhibition was detected in the Fe-doped system, which produced more grain boundaries in the Fe-doped films than in the undoped system. The increased grain boundary scattering was deemed to be effective for a reduced thermal conductivity. This is advantageous for the preparation of high-performance thermoelectric films.

Thermoelectric materials have been the topic of intensive research due to their unique dual capability of directly converting heat into electricity or electrical power into cooling or heating. Bismuth telluride (Bi2Te3) is the best-known commercially used thermoelectric material in the bulk form for cooling and power generation applications In this work we focus on the large scale synthesis of nanostructured undoped bulk nanostructured Bi2Te3 materials by employing a novel bottom-up solution-based chemical approach. Spark plasma sintering has been employed for compaction and sintering of Bi2Te3 nanopowders, resulting in relative density of g·cm-3 while preserving the nanostructure. The average grain size of the final compacts was obtained as 200 nm after sintering. An improved NS bulkundoped Bi2Te3 is achieved with sintered at 400℃ for 4 min holding time.

Thermoelectric bismuth telluride (Bi2Te3) films were deposited on 4° off oriented (001) GaAs substrates using a modified metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) system. The effects of substrate temperature on surface morphologies, crystallinity, electrical properties and thermoelctric properties were investigated. Two dimensional growth mode (2D) was observed at substrate temperature lower than 400℃. However, three dimensional growth mode (3D) was observed at substrate temperature higher than 400℃. Change of growth mechanism from 2D to 3D was confirmed with environmental scanning electron microscope (E-SEM) and X-ray diffraction analysis. Seebeck coefficients of all samples have negative values. This result indicates that Bi2Te3 films grown by modified MOCVD are n-type. The maximum value of Seebeck coefficient was -225 μV/K and the power factor was 1.86×10-3 W/mK2 at the substrate temperature of 400℃. Bi2Te3 films deposited using modified MOCVD can be used to fabricate high-performance thermoelectric devices.