Formation of Fe2SiO4 thin films on Si substrates and influence of substrate to its thermoelectric transport properties

Abstract

Fe2SiO4 thin films have been grown on n-type, p-type and semi-insulating Si(100) substrates by molecular beam epitaxy. When Fe-O thin films were deposited on Si(100) substrate at 300°C, the film reacted with Si, resulting in a Fe2SiO4 film because of the high reactivity between Fe and Si. The electrical resistance and Seebeck coefficient of Fe2SiO4 thin films grown were different in different doping states. On n-type and p-type Si(100), the electrical resistance decreased suddenly and increased again at 350 and 250K, respectively, while on semi-insulating Si(100), it exhibited typical semiconducting resistance behavior. We observed similar crossovers at 350 and 250K in temperature dependent Seebeck coefficients on n-type and p-type Si(100), respectively. These results suggest that the measured electrical and thermoelectric properties originate from Si substrate.