Atomic layer deposition of Zr-sandwiched ZnO thin films for transparent thermoelectrics

Tomi Koskinen*, Ulrika Volin, Camilla Tossi, Ramesh Raju, Ilkka Tittonen

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

8 Citations (Scopus)
105 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Atomic layer deposited (ALD) transparent thermoelectric materials enable the introduction of energy harvesting and sensing devices onto surfaces of various shapes and sizes in imperceptible manner. Amongst these materials, ZnO has shown promising results in terms of both thermoelectric and optical characteristics. The thermoelectric performance of ZnO can be further optimized by introducing extrinsic doping, to the realization of which ALD provides excellent control. Here, we explore the effects of sandwiching of ZrO2 layers with ZnO on glass substrates. The room-temperature thermoelectric power factor is maximised at 116μW m−1 K−2 with samples containing a 2% nominal percentage of ZrO2. The addition of ZrO2 layers is further shown to reduce the thermal conductivity, resulting in a 20.2% decrease from the undoped ZnO at 2% doping. Our results contribute to increasing the understanding of the effects of Zr inclusion in structural properties and growth of ALD ZnO, as well as the thermal and thermoelectric properties of Zr-doped ZnO films in general.

Original languageEnglish
Article number035401
JournalNanotechnology
Volume34
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 15 Jan 2023
MoE publication typeA1 Journal article-refereed

Keywords

  • atomic layer deposition
  • thermoelectric
  • transparent
  • zinc oxide
  • zirconium

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