THERMOELECTRIC PROPERTIES OF MnSi1.7 FILMS WITH ADDITION OF ALUMINUM AND CARBON

Abstract

Polycrystalline higher manganese silicide ( MnSi 1.7, HMS) films with addition of aluminum and carbon are prepared on thermally-oxidized silicon substrates by electron beam evaporation and magnetron sputtering, respectively. An aluminum intermediate layer and a carbon cap layer are used as the doping sources. It is found that both the Seebeck coefficient and electrical resistivity are dependent on the amount of aluminum and carbon added to the films. The Seebeck coefficient changes a little in the temperature range 300 to 433 K and decreases considerably above 433 K when aluminum is added to the film. When carbon is added to the film, however, the Seebeck coefficient increases slightly. With addition of aluminum and carbon, the resistivity decreases. As a result, the thermoelectric power factor increases, especially for films with carbon addition. Several activation energies (0.022–0.20 eV) are observed from the curves of logarithm of resistivity versus reciprocal temperature. The larger activation energies of 0.35 and 0.51 eV are consistent with the energy band gaps for higher manganese silicides.