p-Type Sb₂Te₃and n-Type Bi₂Te₃Films for Thermoelectric Modules Deposited by Thermally Assisted Sputtering Method

We developed a thermally assisted sputtering method (TASM) based on direct current magnetron sputtering to increase the rates of deposition of Sb 2 Te 3 and Bi 2 Te 3 films. The sputtering target was heated with the thermal energy of Ar plasma without any additional heating systems. The stoichiometric Sb 2 Te 3 (p-type) and Bi 2 Te 3 (n-type) films were obtained by TASM. The maximum deposition rate of the films was approximately 1.6 µm/min, which is large for a sputtering method. The differences in the composition ratio between the sputtering target and the deposited films were as small as 3.6 (p-type) and 1.5% (n-type). TASM was applied to the fabrication of a flexible thermoelectric film module. The generation properties of the film module coincided with the values that were estimated on the basis of the thermoelectric properties of films deposited on a SiO 2 glass substrate. These results indicate that TASM is useful for fabricating thermoelectric film modules.