Growth and Characterization of Thermoelectric Ba₈Ga₁₆Ge₃₀ Type-I Clathrate Thin-Films Deposited by Pulsed Dual-Laser Ablation

Author

Robert Harry Hyde, University of South FloridaFollow

Graduation Year

2011

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree

Ph.D.

Degree Granting Department

Physics

Major Professor

Pritish Mukherjee, Ph.D.

Co-Major Professor

Sarath Witanachchi

Committee Member

Sarath Witanachchi, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Xiaomei Jiang, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Dale Johnson, Ph.D.

Committee Member

George S. Nolas, Ph.D.

Keywords

hydrodynamic modeling, ICCD imaging, in-situ growth, optical emission spectroscopy, PLD, polycrystalline, power factor, Seebeck coefficient, stoichiometric

Abstract

The on-going interest in thermoelectric (TE) materials, in the form of bulk and films, motivates investigation of materials that exhibit low thermal conductivity and good electrical conductivity. Such materials are phonon-glass electron-crystals (PGEC), and the multi-component type-I clathrate Ba₈Ga₁₆Ge₃₀ is in this category. This work reports the first investigation of Ba₈Ga₁₆Ge₃₀ films grown by pulsed laser deposition (PLD).

This dissertation details the in-situ growth of polycrystalline type-I clathrate Ba₈Ga₁₆Ge₃₀ thin-films by pulsed laser ablation. Films deposited using conventional laser ablation produced films that contained a high density of particulates and exhibited weak crystallinity. In order to produce high quality, polycrystalline, particulate-free films, a dual-laser ablation process was used that combines the pulses of (UV) KrF excimer and (IR) CO₂ lasers that are temporally synchronized and spatially overlapped on the target surface. The effect of the laser energy on stoichiometric removal of material and morphology of the target has been investigated. In addition, in-situ time-gated emission spectroscopy and imaging techniques were used to monitor expansion of components in the ablated plumes. Through these investigations, the growth parameters were optimized not only to significantly reduce the particulate density but also to produce large area stoichiometric films. Structure and electrical transport properties of the resultant films were also evaluated. This work provides new insight toward the in-situ growth of complex multi-component structures in thin-film form for potential TE applications.

Scholar Commons Citation

Hyde, Robert Harry, "Growth and Characterization of Thermoelectric Ba₈Ga₁₆Ge₃₀ Type-I Clathrate Thin-Films Deposited by Pulsed Dual-Laser Ablation" (2011). USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/etd/3162