Thermoelectric Property of SnSe Films on Glass Substrate: Influence of Columnar Grain Boundary on Carrier Scattering

Thermoelectric SnSe exhibits a very high figure of merit, and the a-axis orientation is needed because a high thermoelectric property is obtained along the bc-plane. Here, in spite of the amorphous nature of glass, a-axis-oriented SnSe films were fabricated using pulsed laser deposition on a glass substrate, which is more practical than single-crystal oxide substrates. Transmission electron microscopy indicated that a-axis-oriented SnSe films with a columnar grain structure grew on amorphous SiO2. The electrical conductivity and the Seebeck coefficient at room temperature showed almost the same trend with respect to the hole concentration in both the SnSe/glass and SnSe/single-crystal-substrate films. The electrical conductivity increased with increasing temperature more slowly in SnSe/glass films than in SnSe/single-crystal-substrate films. This indicates that the grain boundary contribution to carrier scattering is significant at high temperatures, while the grain boundary contribution is as strong as the orthorhombic domain boundary contribution at room temperature. In spite of the grain boundary effect, the power factor in SnSe/glass was as high as that for single-crystal SnSe at high temperatures. Considering the grain boundary effect on electrical conductivity, the structure and process of SnSe films on amorphous substrates should be designed

Structural Evolution Induced by Interfacial Lattice Mismatch in Self-Organized YBa₂Cu₃O_7−δ Nanocomposite Film

Intriguing properties of self-organized nanocomposites of perovskite oxides are usually derived from the complex interface of constituent material phases. A sophisticated control of such a system is required for a broad range of energy and device applications, which demand a comprehensive understanding of the interface at the atomic scale. Here, we visualized and theoretically modeled the highly elastically strained nanorod, the interface region with misfit dislocations and heterointerface distortion, and the matrix with strain-induced oxygen vacancies in the self-organized YBa₂Cu₃O_7−δ nanocomposite films with Ba perovskite nanorods. Large misfit strain was elastically accommodated in the nanocomposites, but since the elastic strain was mainly accommodated by the nanorods, the concentration of strain-induced oxygen vacancies was small enough for the matrix to keep high critical temperature (>85 K). The interfacial bonding distorted the atomic structure of YBa₂Cu₃O_7−δ, but the thickness of distortion was limited to a few unit cells (less than the coherence length) due to the electron screening. The effect of volume fraction on elastic strain and the electron screening are crucial for strong vortex pinning without significant degradation of both the elementary pinning force and critical temperature in the nanocomposites. Thus, we comprehensively clarified the self-organized nanocomposite structure for on-demand control of superconductivity and oxide functionality in the nanocomposite engineering of perovskite oxides