Antimony Telluride Thin Films Electrodeposited in an Alkaline Electrolyte

A new alkaline electrolyte containing SbO2−, TeO32−, triethanolamine, and diaminourea polymer (DAUP) was used to deposit Sb2Tex (2 < x < 6) films. Deaeration of the electrolyte with argon was applied to eliminate oxygen interference. Hot uniaxial pressing (HUP) was chosen as the posttreatment process for the deposited films. DAUP can significantly increase the tellurium content in the deposited film, with little influence on deposition thermodynamics. The as-deposited films exhibited amorphous crystal structure. Argon deaeration proved to be favorable for improving the Seebeck coefficient of the films because oxygen contamination was reduced. HUP treatment reduced the electrical resistance of the films by orders of magnitude. The maximum Seebeck coefficient and power factor of 532 μV K−1 and 1.58 mW m−1 K−2, respectively, were obtained with DAUP and argon deaeration, followed by HUP posttreatment.