Large-scale preparation of ternary BiSbTe films with enhanced thermoelectric properties using DC magnetron sputtering

Large-scale synthesis of BiSbTe films with enhanced electrical property and Seebeck coefficient has been demonstrated in this work. As-grown BiSbTe films are found to have lower carrier concentration and higher electron mobility after the post annealing fulfilled. From the resultant high-resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM) images, the phenomenon of annealing-induced preferential Sb diffusion is corroborated to elaborate the reason why electrical properties could be improved. Moreover, the precipitation of Sb-rich phase is embedded in the thermally-treated BiSbTe films. Such the feasibility of large-scale fabrication of BiSbTe films with the elevated power factor is evidenced and this is very promising in the realization of room-temperature thermoelectric (TE) applications with high performances.