Structural and Electrical Properties of Pb1-xYbxSeyTe1-y Quaternary Compound Synthesized by Solid State Microwave Assisted Plasma

Abstract

Solid-state microwave as a method was used to synthesize quaternary compounds Pb1-xYbxSe0.2Te0.8 from initial components to obtain polycrystalline ingots with large grain size. Thin films of Pb1-xYbxSe0.2Te0.8 were then deposited onto glass substrates using thermal evaporation in vacuum, which have a polycrystalline rock salt (NaCl) structure for powders, and thin films. The field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) images reveal that the Pb1-xYbxSe0.2Te0.8 thin films with Yb-doped have uniform crystal grain size and dense nanostructure. The thermoelectric properties of thin films were measured in the temperature range 298–523 K. The Seebeck coefficient of films increased with x when x=0.015, 0.03 and 0.045, while decreased for x=0.06−0.105.