Thermoelectric properties of Bi2Te3 films by constant and pulsed electrodeposition

Bi2Te3 films have been grown by constant and pulsed electrochemical deposition. The pulsed deposition was carried out by alternating between a constant potential (potentiostatic mode) and an open circuit potential (galvanostatic mode, where current density is fixed at 0 mA/cm 2). The Harris texture analysis was performed to determine the degree of preferred orientation. The results showed that the films were strongly oriented along (1 1 0) direction. The morphology and compositions of the films were then analyzed. Finally, their Seebeck coefficient and electrical resistivity were measured and used to determine the thermoelectric Power Factor of the films for a temperature range between 57 and 107 C. © 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.The authors would like to acknowledge partial financial support from ERC StG NanoTEC 240497. D.A.B.T. acknowledges support from NSF IRES-1028071. C.V.M acknowledges a JAE Ph.D. grant, O.C.C. acknowledges JAE post-doctoral positions from CSIC, and the European Social Fund and B.A.M. recognizes the NANOTHERMA project (FCCI), MICINN project MAT2008-06330.Peer Reviewe