Thermal conductivity of GeSn alloys: a CMOS candidate for energy harvesting applications

The thermal conductivity, κ, of thin GeSn semiconductors with Sn concentration of 12 at.% was studied by the 3-omega method. Accent is put on room temperature characterization where a small lattice conductivity of 4.5W/m-K was extracted. Similar performance was found but using the Raman thermometry optical method indicating the reliability of the measurements and showing GeSn alloys as promising materials for thermoelectric applications.