Thermoelectricity of Iron-Antimony-Titanium Thin Films Fabricated Through DC Magnetron Sputtering

In this study, Fe-Ti-Sb (FTS) thin films were deposited onto glass substrates using DC magnetron sputtering in Ar and N₂ atmosphere variations. For the investigation of their thermoelectricity, both as-deposited samples were treated using rapid thermal annealing at 523 K for 60 min. Their crystallite structure, morphology, and chemical composition were determined using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, respectively. A ZEM-3 apparatus was used to ascertain their thermoelectric properties to obtain the electrical resistivity (ρ), Seebeck coefficient (S), and power factor (PF) in the temperature range of 323 K to 473 K. All as-deposited thin films were found to be of n-type, and they were transformed to p-type after being annealed. The maximum PF value of the annealed sample deposited in an N₂ atmosphere reached 1.9 µW m⁻¹ K⁻² at 473 K. The thermoelectric thin film (TETF) module of FTS p–n junction was fabricated onto a glass substrate using DC magnetron sputtering and annealing techniques. The TETF module consisted of five p-type pair legs and five n-type pair legs in planar. Open circuit measurements showed that the highest open-circuit voltage was 0.24 mV and P_max was 7.0 pW at a temperature difference of 20 K.