Thermoelectric property of Cu2O thin film deposited by Reactive Ion Plating method

Cuprous oxide Cu-O thin film was deposited by Reactive Ion Plating (RIP) method, and the thermoelectric properties of Cu-O thin films were studied with varying oxygen content. Copper was evaporated by electron gun, and thin film of Cu-O was deposited with reaction in oxygen plasma. Adjusting of oxygen gas flow rate could control oxygen content of the deposited thin film. Seebeck coefficient and resistivity of the Cu₂ O were 0.7 mV/K and 83.5 Omegacm at room temperature, respectively. Since the resistivity was still high for the thermoelectric material, we attempted to fabricate the Cu₂O thin film using copper, oxygen gas and nitrogen gas as a dopant. As a result, the Seebeck and resistivity could achieve 0.3mV/K and 2 Omegacm, which is the lowest resistivity reported without hydrogen treatment