Effect of Large Uniaxial Stress on the Thermoelectric Properties of Microcrystalline Silicon Thin Films

Edwin Acosta, Vladimir Smirnov, Peter S. B. Szabo, Christian Pillajo, Erick De la Cadena, Nick S. Bennett*

*Corresponding author for this work

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Abstract

This study reports on the behaviour of the thermoelectric properties of n- and p-type hydrogenated microcrystalline silicon thin films (µc-Si: H) as a function of applied uniaxial stress up to ±1.7%. µc-Si: H thin films were deposited via plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition and thermoelectric properties were obtained through annealing at 200 °C (350 °C) for n-(p-) type samples, before the bending experiments. Tensile (compressive) stress was effective to increase the electrical conductivity of n-(p-) type samples. Likewise, stress induced changes in the Seebeck coefficient, however, showing an improvement only in electron-doped films under compressive stress. Overall, the addition of elevated temperature to the bending experiments resulted in a decrease in the mechanical stability of the films. These trends did not produce a significant enhancement of the overall thermoelectric power factor, rather it was largely preserved in all cases.

Original languageEnglish
Article number4085
JournalElectronics
Volume11
Issue number24
Early online date8 Dec 2022
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Dec 2022

Keywords

  • annealing
  • microcrystalline silicon
  • power factor
  • temperature
  • thermoelectric
  • thin films
  • uniaxial stress

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Control and Systems Engineering
  • Signal Processing
  • Hardware and Architecture
  • Computer Networks and Communications
  • Electrical and Electronic Engineering

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