Temperature variation of thermoelectric power of vacuum deposited PbSe thin films and its thickness dependence

Abstract

PbSe thin films of thicknesses in the range 20 to about 170 nm have been prepared on glass substrates held at room temperature by thermal evaporation of the bulk alloy at a pressure of 5×10⁻⁵ torr. The thermoelectric power of these films has been evaluated as a function of temperature in the range 300 to 500 K from the thermal e.m.f. data. It was found that the thermoelectric power of all the films initially increases with increasing temperature, then reaches a maximum, and, with a further increase in temperature, decreases rapidly and also changes sign. The possible reasons for this peculiar behaviour have been given. It is also found that there is no systematic variation of thermoelectric power with thickness of the films. This is probably due to completely specular scattering at the external and internal surfaces of PbSe thin films or to changes in stoichiometry of different films.