Electrical conductivity and thermoelectric power of amorphous Sb<inf>2</inf>Te<inf>3</inf> thin films and amorphous-crystalline transition

The results of electrical conductivity and thermoelectric studies on antimony telluride, a promising thermoelectric material, in the thin film state are reported. Films were vacuum-deposited on to clean glass substrates with thickness between 50 and 200 nm and studied in the temperature interval 300 to 470 K. On heating the as-grown films, there is a sharp fall both in the Seebeck coefficient and the electrical resistivity at around 340 to 370 K for all the films. This is attributed to an amorphous to crystalline transition, which is confirmed by X-ray diffractogram and electron diffraction patterns.[/p] © 1987 Chapman and Hall Ltd.