Phonon drag thermopower persisting over 200 K in FeSb2 thin film on SrTiO3 single crystal

Abstract

FeSb2 is known as a potential low-temperature thermoelectric material with the record-high power factor (PF) originating from the huge phonon drag thermopower (Sg). However, the Sg contribution to PF has been observed only at very low temperatures (T) < 40 K. In this paper, we found that the Sg persists at much higher T up to 240 K and enhances PF in FeSb2 thin films deposited on SrTiO3 single crystals. The FeSb2 films showed phonon drag Sg peak at T ∼ 60 K, and the Sg peak value was largely enhanced from 56 to 208 μV/K by varying film thicknesses from 10 to 100 nm. Due to thickness-dependent Sg contribution, the maximum PF = 31.3 μW/(cm K2) was obtained for a 37-nm thick film. In addition, the onset temperature, where Sg starts to appear, can be largely increased due presumably to the enhanced electron–phonon interaction by phonon leakage from the SrTiO3 substrate to the thin FeSb2 layer. Heterostructuring with an oxide would be an effective approach to enhance the phonon drag effect to increase PF in higher T regions for future thermoelectric cooling and energy conversion devices.