Epitaxial growth and thermoelectric properties of Mg3Bi2 thin films deposited by magnetron sputtering

Mg3Sb2-based thermoelectric materials attract attention for applications near room temperature. Here, Mg-Bi films were synthesized using magnetron sputtering at deposition temperatures from room temperature to 400 & DEG;C. Single-phase Mg3Bi2 thin films were grown on c-plane-oriented sapphire and Si(100) substrates at a low deposition temperature of 200 & DEG;C. The Mg3Bi2 films grew epitaxially on c-sapphire and fiber-textured on Si(100). The orientation relationships for the Mg3Bi2 film with respect to the c-sapphire substrate are (0001) Mg3Bi2||(0001) Al2O3 and [11 2 over bar 0] Mg3Bi2||[11 2 over bar 0] Al2O3. The observed epitaxy is consistent with the relatively high work of separation, calculated by the density functional theory, of 6.92 J m(-2) for the Mg3Bi2 (0001)/Al2O3 (0001) interface. Mg3Bi2 films exhibited an in-plane electrical resistivity of 34 mu omega m and a Seebeck coefficient of +82.5 mu V K-1, yielding a thermoelectric power factor of 200 mu W m(-1) K-2 near room temperature.