Thermoelectric properties of antimony telluride thin films deposited using RF magnetron sputtering

In this paper, we report the fabrication parameters for thin films (0.5 ? 2 μm) of antimony telluride (p- type semiconductor) deposited using R. F. magnetron sputtering. Optimal deposition conditions were found to be at a sputtering power of 60 W, 5 cm distance between the sample and target, a substrate temperature of 50 ºC and sputtering duration of 300 seconds. The Seebeck coefficient and electrical resistivity of these films were measured at room temperature (295 K). The Seebeck coefficient and the electrical resistivity of the antimony telluride was found to be approximately 213 μV/K and 585 μWm, respectively. The microstructural characteristics of the thin films were investigated using Scanning Electron Microscopy and X-Ray Diffraction. The XRD analysis indicated the presence of monoclinic (SbTe), hexagonal (Sb2Te2) and rhombohedral (Sb2Te3) crystal structures