Low-dimensional systems on the base of PbSnAgTe (LATT) compounds for thermoelectric application

Abstract

In the paper the p-type of conductivity polycrystalline thin films were received on the basis of PbSnAgTe (LATT) materials deposited on the mica-muscovite substrate. The temperature and thickness dependences of conductivity, current carriers mobility and specific thermoelectric power were investigated for these films. It is shown that scattering on acoustic phonons is the dominant mechanism at above room temperature. The presence of oscillations in profiles of thermoelectric parameters of specific electrical conductivity and Seebeck coefficients is experimentally obtained. The theoretical explanation of oscillations is explained within the framework of model of rectangular potential well with infinitely high walls. The estimation of the efficiency of thermoelectric materials, namely, the dimensionless thermoelectric figure of merit is ZT ∼ (1.2–1.5). © 2018 Elsevier B.V.