Thermoelectric properties of MBE-grown HgCdTe-based superlattices from 100K to 300K

Abstract

We report on the thermoelectric properties of long-period HgCdTe superlattices (MCT SLs) from cryogenic temperature to room temperature. We find that the thermal conductivity is lower than the alloy value especially at low temperatures, the electrical conductivity is similar to that of alloy films, and the Seebeck coefficient is comparable to other SLs. Calculations based on Rytov’s elastic model show that the phonon group velocity is reduced due to folding by more than a factor of two relative to its value in bulk CdTe or HgTe. Thermal conductivity is found to be relatively constant over a wide range of temperatures.

An overview of thermoelectric films: Fabrication techniques, classification, and regulation methods

“…[23] Additionally, organic TE materials as well as inorganic-organic TE composites can also diversify the potential applications of thin-film TE devices. [24][25][26] To improve TE properties and design better TE films, many methods have been developed, such as vacuum evaporation, [27] sputtering, [28,29] pulsed laser deposition, [30] screen printing, [31] molecular beam epitaxy, [32] atomic layer deposition, [33] electrodeposition, [34,35] and so on. More importantly, tuning the carrier concentration, engineering the band structure, and suppressing the lattice thermal conductivity have also been considered to optimize the electrical and thermal transport of the films in essence.…”