The Thermoelectrical Behaviour of Tantalum-Antimony-Germanium Thin Films

In this work the thermoelectrical properties of newly developed thin films materials, based on tantalum-antimony-germanium (TAG) alloys are presented. They were processed with the use of magnetron sputtering. The thermoelectric sensitivity, electrical resistivity and power factor were estimated in the temperatures range: 300 K-550 K for various proportions of tantalum in the Ge-Sb target. The target compositions were optimized with regard to the deposited layers parameters. The obtained TAG thin films withstand the temperature ca 920 K, show the thermoelectric sensitivity ca 200 muV/K and are suitable for usage in joints with thick films. They were subjected to verification in thermocouples systems where the TAG film constituted one electrode and MeSi thin film or Pd-Ag thick film the other. As thermocouples they displayed the similar electrical properties, irrespective of the substrate they were deposited on, which were made out of amorphous glass, sital or LTCC ceramic substrate.