Large enhancement of the thermoelectric Seebeck coefficient for amorphous oxide semiconductor superlattices with extremely thin conductive layers

Herein we demonstrate that amorphous oxide semiconductor (AOS) superlattices composed of a‐In–Zn–O (well) and a‐In–Ga–Zn–O (barrier) layers, fabricated on SiO2 glass substrate by pulsed laser deposition at room temperature, exhibited an enhanced Seebeck coefficient |S |. The |S | value increases drastically with decreasing a‐In–Zn–O thickness (dIZO) when dIZO < ∼5 nm, and reached 73 µV K–1 (dIZO = 0.3 nm), which is ∼4 times larger than that of bulk |S |3D (19 µV K–1), while it kept its high electrical conductivity, clearly demonstrating that the quantum size effect can be utilized in AOS superlattices. (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)