Abstract
Introduction: Magnesium tin silicide (MgSiSn) is known as a good-thermoelectric-performance, safe and cost-efficient alloy material. The goal of this work is to design a magnetron co-sputtering configuration for depositing alloy thin films from three independent metal targets including magnesium (Mg), silicon (Si) and tin (Sn).
 Methods: By this solution, the elemental composition of the MgSiSn thin films can be effectively controlled through changing sputtering power of the individual magnetron. The actual values of elemental composition in the as-deposited films were verified by using energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The as-deposited thin films were investigated carefully by using the X-ray diffraction to recognize crystalline structure characteristics. Most importantly, typically thermoelectric parameters including Seebeck coefficient, electrical conductivity and power factor were indicated as functions of temperature.
 Results: The XRD analysis exhibits cubic anti-fluorite-type structure characteristic of the MgSiSn films; however, the presence of segregated Mg phase is still observed. The testing results for the representative MgSiSn thin film with good adherence show the power factor of PF ~15×10-3 W/mK2, as a result of Seebeck coefficient of S ~132 µV/K and electrical conductivity of σ ~9000 S/cm, at 373 K. At higher temperature than 473 K, the semiconducting behavior of the films tends to transform from p-type to n-type.
 Conclusion: The three-target co-sputtering configuration shows the possibility of successfully preparing alloy MgSiSn thin films with good adherence on Si substrate. Furthermore, the testing result suggests that the as-deposited MgSiSn thin films have some potential thermoelectric characteristics, which can be improved more significantly.
Highlights
Magnesium tin silicide (MgSiSn) is known as a good-thermoelectric-performance, safe and cost-efficient alloy material
The three-target co-sputtering configuration shows the possibility of successfully preparing alloy MgSiSn thin films with good adherence on Si substrate
To prepare MgSiSn alloy thin films, we modified a co-sputtering configuration with three separate Mg, Si and Sn targets, which was based on the Leybold Univex-450 system (Figure 1a)
Summary
Magnesium tin silicide (MgSiSn) is known as a good-thermoelectric-performance, safe and cost-efficient alloy material. The goal of this work is to design a magnetron co-sputtering configuration for depositing alloy thin films from three independent metal targets including magnesium (Mg), silicon (Si) and tin (Sn). Methods: By this solution, the elemental composition of the MgSiSn thin films can be effectively controlled through changing the sputtering power of the individual magnetron. In the case of the MgSiSn alloy, Si4+ replacement of Sn4+ ion increases S value owing to the increasing density of state (DOS) in energy-band structure, and reduces κ value because Sn atom has much heavier mass than Si atom 3,4 Another method to achieve high ZT value is producing low-dimensional materials due to the quantum confinement, high σ , and low κ values 5. Some electrical and thermoelectric characteristics of the as-deposited MgSiSn thin films were basically investigated
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