Abstract
BiTe bilayer thin films were deposited in sequence on oxidized Si wafers by sputtering and converted into Bi2 Te3 alloys by thermal annealing. It was found that the Seebeck coefficient rose from -38 μVK to -202 μVK, the resistivity increased slightly from 2.0× 10-3 to 2.3× 10-3 Ω cm, and the thermal conductivity decreased from 2.56 to 0.71 Wm K after the BiTe bilayer samples were annealed at 200 °C for 24 h. Bi2 Te3 is the only compound phase identified in the annealed BiTe bilayer samples by x-ray diffraction analysis. The effects of deposition parameters and postannealing condition on the microstructure and the thermoelectric properties of the BiTe bilayer thin films were investigated. © 2005 American Vacuum Society.