P-Type BiSb₂Te₃ thin film thermoelectric module fabricated on a flexible substrate through magnetron sputtering

School of Metallurgy and Materials, The University of Birmingham, Birmingham, B15 2TT, U.K.

^* Corresponding author: z.zhang.1@bham.ac.uk

Abstract

In this work, we deposited P-type BiSb₂Te₃-based thin films utilizing magnetron sputtering. After characterisations of their morphology and microstructure, a special in-plane advanced test system was used to simultaneously measure the thermal conductivity, electrical conductivity, and Seebeck coefficient of the thin film. The figure of merit of the thin film can then be calculated. We produced a prototype of a thin-film module based on P-type BiSb₂Te₃ on Kapton HN polyimide foil Kapton substrate with two different designs. The open-circuit voltage, electric current and electrical resistance of the thin film were measured by a homemade apparatus across various temperature gradients. The BiTe-based thin film flexible TE prototype can effectively convert heat into electricity at temperatures up to 200°C.