Laser-induced forward transfer of intact chalcogenide thin films: resultant morphology and thermoelectric properties

Feinäugle, M., Sones, C.L., Koukharenko, E., Gholipour, B., Hewak, D.W. and Eason, R.W. (2013) Laser-induced forward transfer of intact chalcogenide thin films: resultant morphology and thermoelectric properties. Applied Physics A, 112 (4), 1073-1079. (doi:10.1007/s00339-012-7491-4).

Abstract

We present a laser-based transfer method for the novel application of fabricating elements for planar thermoelectric devices. Thin films of thermoelectric chalcogenides (Bi₂Te₃, Bi₂Se₃ and Bi_0.5Sb_1.5Te₃) were printed via laser-induced forward transfer (LIFT) onto polymer-coated substrates over large areas of up to ~ 15 mm² in size. A morphological study showed that it was possible to preserve the polycrystalline structure of the transferred ~ 1 µm thick films. The films' Seebeck coefficients after LIFT transfer were measured and resulted in -49 ± 1 µV/K, -93 ± 8 µV/K and 142 ± 3 µV/K for Bi₂Te₃, Bi₂Se₃ and Bi_0.5Sb_1.5Te₃ respectively, which was found to be ~23 ± 6% lower compared to their initial value. This demonstration shows that LIFT is suitable to transfer sensitive, functional semiconductor materials over areas up to ~ 15 mm² with minimal damage onto a non-standard polymer-coated substrate.

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Contributors

Author: D.W. Hewak

Author: R.W. Eason

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