Characterization of polycrystalline SnSe2 thin films for thermoelectric applications grown by single-stage horizontal tube furnace (SSHTF)

Abstract

In this study, thin films of Tin Selenide (SnSe2) were grown by one of the simple and cost-effective Single-stage Horizontal Tube Furnace (SSHTF) technique. Growth was started by taking the fine metal powders of Tin (Sn) and Selenium (Se) in an equal ratio and a mixture was prepared. The mixed powder was placed in a ceramic boat and evaporated at 280 °C for 1 h on glass substrate using different substrate to source distances. Grown thin films were characterized using XRD, Raman, SEM, and Seebeck measurements to analyze the crystalline structure, vibrational, surface morphology and thermoelectric properties. The thermoelectric results are very promising because measured values of Seebeck coefficient and power factor are found to be 23.01 μV/oK and 9.02 × 10−5 Wm−1k−2 respectively for the sample with optimized value of source to substrate distance. These reported values are the best results so far achieved using SSHTF for SnSe2 thin films while varying the distance between source and substrate.