Improvement in Contact Resistivity to thin film Bi2Te3

Abstract

AbstractA study of the impact of surface preparation and post-deposition annealing on contact resistivity for sputtered Ni and Co contacts to thin film Bi2Te3 is presented. The contact resistance values obtained using the transfer length method (TLM) for Ni is compared to Co as a potential contact metal to Bi2Te3. Post-deposition annealing at 100°C on samples that were sputter cleaned reduces the contact resistivity to < 10-7 Ω-cm2 for both Ni and Co contacts to Bi2Te3. Co provided similar contact resistance values as Ni, but had better adhesion and less diffusion into the thermoelectric (TE) material, making it a suitable candidate for contact metallization to Bi2Te3 based devices.