Superconducting Bi 2Te: Pressure-induced universality in the (Bi 2) m(Bi 2Te 3) n series

DOE PAGES

Stillwell, Ryan L.; Jeffries, Jason R.; Jenei, Zsolt; ...

2016-03-09

Using high-pressure magnetotransport techniques we have discovered superconductivity in Bi 2Te, a member of the infinitely adaptive (Bi 2)m(Bi 2Te 3)n series, whose end members, Bi and Bi 2Te 3, can be tuned to display topological surface states or superconductivity. Bi 2Te has a maximum T c = 8.6 K at P = 14.5 GPa and goes through multiple high pressure phase transitions, ultimately collapsing into a bcc structure that suggests a universal behavior across the series. High-pressure magnetoresistance and Hall measurements suggest a semi-metal to metal transition near 5.4 GPa, which accompanies the hexagonal to intermediate phase transition seenmore » via x-ray diffraction measurements. In addition, the linearity of H c2 (T) exceeds the Werthamer-Helfand-Hohenberg limit, even in the extreme spin-orbit scattering limit, yet is consistent with other strong spin-orbit materials. Furthermore, considering these results in combination with similar reports on strong spin-orbit scattering materials seen in the literature, we suggest the need for a new theory that can address the unconventional nature of their superconducting states.« less

Superconductivity in the Narrow Gap Semiconductor RbBi 11/3Te 6

DOE PAGES

Malliakas, Christos D.; Chung, Duck Young; Claus, Helmut; ...

2016-10-16

Superconductivity was discovered in the layered compound RbBi 11/3Te 6, featuring Bi vacancies and a narrow band gap of 0.25(2) eV at room temperature. In addition, a sharp superconducting transition at similar to 3.2 K was observed in polycrystalline ingots. The superconducting volume fraction of oriented single crystals is almost 100%, confirming bulk superconductivity. Systematic Se and Sb substitutions in RbBi 11/3-ySb ySe xTe 6-x, revealed a dependence of the superconducting transition on composition that can increase the T c up to similar to 10%. The RbBi 11/3Te 6 system is the first member of the new homologous series Rb[Bimore » 2n+11/3Te 3n+6] with infinite Bi 2Te 3-like layers. Lastly, the large degree of chemical tunability of the electronic structure of the homology via doping and/or substitution gives rise to a new family of superconductors.« less

Preparation and structure of BiCrTeO{sub 6}: A new compound in Bi–Cr–Te–O system. Thermal expansion studies of Cr{sub 2}TeO{sub 6}, Bi{sub 2}TeO{sub 6} and BiCrTeO{sub 6}

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Vats, Bal Govind; Phatak, Rohan; Krishnan, K.

Graphical abstract: A new compound BiCrTeO{sub 6} in the Bi–Cr–Te–O system was prepared by solid state route and characterized by X-ray diffraction method. The crystal structure of BiCrTeO{sub 6} shows that there is one distinct site for bismuth (Bi) atom (pink color), one chromium rich (Cr/Te = 68/32) (blue/green color), one tellurium rich (Te/Cr = 68/32) sites (green/blue color), and one distinct site for oxygen (O) atom (red color) in the unit cell. All cations in this structure show an octahedral coordination with oxygen atoms at the corners. The thermogram (TG) of the compound in air shows that it ismore » stable up to 1103 K and decomposes thereafter. The thermal expansion behaviour of BiCrTeO{sub 6} was studied using high temperature X-ray diffraction method from room temperature to 923 K under vacuum of 10{sup −8} atmosphere and showed positive thermal expansion with the average volume thermal expansion coefficients of 16.0 × 10{sup −6}/K. - Highlights: • A new compound BiCrTeO{sub 6} in Bi–Cr–Te–O system was prepared and characterized. • The crystal structure of BiCrTeO{sub 6} was determined by Rietveld refinement method. • The structure of BiCrTeO{sub 6} shows an octahedral coordination for all the metal ions. • The thermal expansion behavior of BiCrTeO{sub 6} from room temperature to 923 K showed a positive thermal expansion. • The average volume thermal expansion coefficient for BiCrTeO{sub 6} is 16.0 × 10{sup −6}/K. - Abstract: A new compound BiCrTeO{sub 6} in Bi–Cr–Te–O system was prepared by solid state reaction of Bi{sub 2}O{sub 3}, Cr{sub 2}O{sub 3} and H{sub 6}TeO{sub 6} in oxygen and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) method. It could be indexed on a trigonal lattice, with the space group P-31c, unit cell parameters a = 5.16268(7) Å and c = 9.91861(17) Å. The crystal structure of BiCrTeO{sub 6} was determined by Rietveld refinement method using the powder XRD data. Structure shows that there is one

Anisotropic layered Bi2Te3-In2Te3 composites: control of interface density for tuning of thermoelectric properties

PubMed Central

Liu, Dongmei; Li, Xinzhong; Borlido, Pedro Miguel de Castro; Botti, Silvana; Schmechel, Roland; Rettenmayr, Markus

2017-01-01

Layered (Bi1−xInx)2Te3-In2Te3 (x = 0.075) composites of pronounced anisotropy in structure and thermoelectric properties were produced by zone melting and subsequent coherent precipitation of In2Te3 from a (Bi1−xInx)2Te3 (x > 0.075) matrix. Employing solid state phase transformation, the Bi2Te3/In2Te3 interface density was tuned by modifying the driving force for In2Te3 precipitation. The structure-property relationship in this strongly anisotropic material is characterized thoroughly and systematically for the first time. Unexpectedly, with increasing Bi2Te3/In2Te3 interface density, an increase in electrical conductivity and a decrease in the absolute Seebeck coefficient were found. This is likely to be due to electron accumulation layers at the Bi2Te3/In2Te3 interfaces and the interplay of bipolar transport in Bi2Te3. Significantly improved thermoelectric properties of Bi2Te3-In2Te3 composites as compared to the single phase (Bi1−xInx)2Te3 solid solution are obtained. PMID:28272541

Synthesis of Multishell Nanoplates by Consecutive Epitaxial Growth of Bi2Se3 and Bi2Te3 Nanoplates and Enhanced Thermoelectric Properties.

PubMed

Min, Yuho; Park, Gyeongbae; Kim, Bongsoo; Giri, Anupam; Zeng, Jie; Roh, Jong Wook; Kim, Sang Il; Lee, Kyu Hyoung; Jeong, Unyong

2015-07-28

We herein demonstrate the successive epitaxial growth of Bi2Te3 and Bi2Se3 on seed nanoplates for the scalable synthesis of heterostructured nanoplates (Bi2Se3@Bi2Te3) and multishell nanoplates (Bi2Se3@Bi2Te3@Bi2Se3, Bi2Se3@Bi2Te3@Bi2Se3@Bi2Te3). The relative dimensions of the constituting layers are controllable via the molar ratios of the precursors added to the seed nanoplate solution. Reduction of the precursors produces nanoparticles that attach preferentially to the sides of the seed nanoplates. Once attached, the nanoparticles reorganize epitaxially on the seed crystal lattices to form single-crystalline core-shell nanoplates. The nanoplates, initially 100 nm wide, grew laterally to 620 nm in the multishell structure, while their thickness increased more moderately, from 5 to 20 nm. The nanoplates were pelletized into bulk samples by spark plasma sintering and their thermoelectric properties are compared. A peak thermoelectric figure of merit (ZT) ∼0.71 was obtained at 450 K for the bulk of Bi2Se3@Bi2Te3 nanoplates by simultaneous modulation of electronic and thermal transport in the presence of highly dense grain and phase boundaries.

Surface phonons in the topological insulators Bi2Se3 and Bi2Te3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boulares, Ibrahim; Shi, Guangsha; Kioupakis, Emmanouil; Lošťák, Petr; Uher, Ctirad; Merlin, Roberto

2018-03-01

Raman scattering [K. M. F. Shahil et al., Appl. Phys. Lett. 96, 153103 (2010), V. Gnezdilov et al., Phys. Rev. B 84, 195118 (2011) and H. -H. Kung et al., Phys. Rev. B 95, 245406 (2017)], inelastic helium scattering [X. Zhu et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 107, 186102 (2011)] and photoemission experiments [J. A. Sobota et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 113, 157401 (2014)] on the topological insulators Bi2Se3 and Bi2Te3 show features in the range ∼ 50-160 cm-1, which have been assigned alternatively to Raman-forbidden, bulk infrared modes arising from symmetry breaking at the surface or to surface phonons, which couple to the topologically protected electronic states. Here, we present temperature- and wavelength- dependent Raman studies showing additional modes we ascribe to surface phonons in both Bi2Se3 and Bi2Te3. Our assignment is supported by density functional theory calculations revealing surface phonons at frequencies close to those of the extra peaks in the Raman data. The theoretical results also indicate that these modes are not a consequence of spin-orbit coupling and, thus, that their occurrence is unrelated to the topological properties of these materials.

Bi2Te3 thin hexagonal nanoplatelets: Synthesis and its characterization studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vinoth, S.; Balaganapathi, T.; KaniAmuthan, B.; Arun, T.; Muthuselvam, I. Panneer; Chou, Fang-Cheng; Thilakan, P.

2017-08-01

Solvothermal synthesis and optimization of pure Bismuth telluride (Bi2Te3) hexagonal nanoplatelets was carried out from Bismuth Oxide (Bi2O3) and Tellurium dioxide (TeO2). XRD measurements revealed a sensitive change in crystallization behaviour in correlation with variation in Te/Bi stoichiometry identified through the exchange in intensities between (10 10 ̅) and (110) peaks. Further, Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDAX) analysis revealed the variation in Te/Bi ratio with respect to autoclave temperature. Field emission scanning electron Microscope (FESEM) and the high resolution transmission electron Microscope (HRTEM) studies show the complete growth of hexagonal nanoplatelets at 200 °C. Confocal Micro-Raman measurements revealed the occurrence of symmetry breaking in the synthesized hexagonal nanoplatelets. The electrical conductivity and the activation energy were recorded as 6.01×10-3 S/m and 0.042 eV respectively. Highest maximum absolute value of Seebeck coefficient of -355 μV/K was obtained for the hexagonal nanoplatelets.

Interband absorption edge in the topological insulators Bi2(Te1-xSex) 3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dubroka, A.; Caha, O.; Hronček, M.; Friš, P.; Orlita, M.; Holý, V.; Steiner, H.; Bauer, G.; Springholz, G.; Humlíček, J.

2017-12-01

We have investigated the optical properties of thin films of topological insulators Bi2Te3 , Bi2Se3 , and their alloys Bi2(Te1-xSex) 3 on BaF2 substrates by a combination of infrared ellipsometry and reflectivity in the energy range from 0.06 to 6.5 eV. For the onset of interband absorption in Bi2Se3 , after the correction for the Burstein-Moss effect, we find the value of the direct band gap of 215 ±10 meV at 10 K. Our data support the picture that Bi2Se3 has a direct band gap located at the Γ point in the Brillouin zone and that the valence band reaches up to the Dirac point and has the shape of a downward-oriented paraboloid, i.e., without a camel-back structure. In Bi2Te3 , the onset of strong direct interband absorption at 10 K is at a similar energy of about 200 meV, with a weaker additional feature at about 170 meV. Our data support the recent G W band-structure calculations suggesting that the direct interband transition does not occur at the Γ point but near the Z -F line of the Brillouin zone. In the Bi2(Te1-xSex) 3 alloy, the energy of the onset of direct interband transitions exhibits a maximum near x =0.3 (i.e., the composition of Bi2Te2Se ), suggesting that the crossover of the direct interband transitions between the two points in the Brillouin zone occurs close to this composition.

Structural studies of Bi 2 O 3 -Nb 2 O 5 -TeO 2 glasses

DOE PAGES

Wilding, Martin C.; Delaizir, Gaelle; Benmore, Chris J.; ...

2016-07-25

Bi 2O 3-Nb 2O 5-TeO 2 glasses show unusual annealing behavior with appearance of spherulites within the matrix glass structure for the Bi 0.5Nb 0.5Te 3O 8 composition. The textures resemble those found previously among polyamorphic Al 2O 3-Y 2O 3 glasses containing metastably co-existing high- and low-density phases produced during quenching. However the spherulites produced within the Bi 2O 3-Nb 2O 5-TeO 2 glass are crystalline and can be identified as an “anti-glass” phase related to β-Bi 2Te 4O 11. Here, we used high energy synchrotron X-ray diffraction data to study structures of binary and ternary glasses quenched frommore » liquids within the Bi 2O 3-Nb 2O 5-TeO 2 system. These reveal a glassy network based on interconnected TeO 4 and TeO 3 units that is related to TeO 2 crystalline materials but with larger Te…Te separations due to the presence of TeO 3 groups and non-bridging oxygens linked to modifier (Bi 3 +, Nb 5 +) cations. Analysis of the viscosity-temperature relations indicates that the glass-forming liquids are “fragile” and there is no evidence for a LLPT occurring in the supercooled liquid. The glasses obtained by quenching likely correspond to a high-density amorphous (HDA) state. Subsequent annealing above T g shows mainly evidence for direct crystallization of the “anti-glass” tellurite phase. But, some evidence may exist for simultaneous formation of nanoscale amorphous spherulites that could correspond to the LDA polyamorph. The quenching and annealing behavior of Bi 2O 3-Nb 2O 5-TeO 2 supercooled liquids and glasses is compared with similar materials in the Al 2O 3-Y 2O 3 system.« less

Synthesis, structure, and characterization of two new bismuth(III) selenite/tellurite nitrates: [(Bi{sub 3}O{sub 2})(SeO{sub 3}){sub 2}](NO{sub 3}) and [Bi(TeO{sub 3})](NO{sub 3})

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Meng, Chang-Yu; Wei, Ming-Fang; Geng, Lei, E-mail: lgeng.cn@gmail.com

Two new bismuth(III) selenite/tellurite nitrates, [(Bi{sub 3}O{sub 2})(SeO{sub 3}){sub 2}](NO{sub 3}) and [Bi(TeO{sub 3})](NO{sub 3}), have been synthesized by conventional facile hydrothermal method at middle temperature 200 °C and characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction, powder diffraction, UV–vis–NIR optical absorption spectrum, infrared spectrum and thermal analylsis. Both [(Bi{sub 3}O{sub 2})(SeO{sub 3}){sub 2}](NO{sub 3}) and [Bi(TeO3)](NO3) crystallize in the monoclinic centronsymmetric space group P2{sub 1}/c with a=9.9403(4) Å, b=9.6857(4) Å, c=10.6864(5) Å, β=93.1150(10)° for [(Bi{sub 3}O{sub 2})(SeO{sub 3}){sub 2}](NO{sub 3}) and a=8.1489(3) Å, b=9.0663(4) Å, c=7.4729(3) Å, β=114.899(2)° for Bi(TeO3)(NO3), respectively. The two compounds, whose structures are composed of three different asymmetricmore » building units, exhibit two different types of structures. The structure of [(Bi{sub 3}O{sub 2})(SeO{sub 3}){sub 2}](NO{sub 3}) features a three-dimensional (3D) bismuth(III) selenite cationic tunnel structure [(Bi{sub 3}O{sub 2})(SeO{sub 3}){sub 2}] {sup 3}{sub ∞} with NO{sub 3}{sup −} anion group filling in the 1D tunnel along b axis. The structure of [Bi(TeO{sub 3})](NO{sub 3}) features 2D bismuth(III) tellurite [Bi(TeO{sub 3}){sub 2}]{sup 2}{sub ∞} layers separated by NO{sub 3}{sup −} anion groups. The results of optical diffuse-reflectance spectrum measurements and electronic structure calculations based on density functional theory methods show that the two compounds are wide band-gap semiconductors. - Graphical abstract: Two novel bismuth{sup III} selenite/tellurite nitrates [(Bi{sub 3}O{sub 2})(SeO{sub 3}){sub 2}](NO{sub 3}) with 3D tunnel structure and [Bi(TeO{sub 3})](NO{sub 3}) with 2D layer structure have been firstly synthesized and characterized. Display Omitted - Highlights: • Two novel bismuth{sup III} nitrates [(Bi{sub 3}O{sub 2})(SeO{sub 3}){sub 2}](NO{sub 3}) and [Bi(TeO{sub 3})](NO{sub 3}) were

GW quasiparticle energy study of ternary tetradymite Bi2Te2Se and Bi2Te2S thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shuaibu, Alhassan; Rahman, Md. Mahmudur; Zainuddin, Hishamuddin; Talib, Zainal Abidin; Muhida, Rifki

2015-04-01

In this work, we have evaluated the quasiparticle energies of ternary tetradymite Bi2Te2Se and Bi2Te2S using first-principles calculation within the G0W0 methods. We have also performed a broad convergence tests in order to investigate the quasiparticle corrections to the structural parameters and to the semi core d electrons in both of the compounds. For each case, we have calculated the many-body corrections within a one-shot GW method of the compounds. Our results have shown that for Bi2Te2Se the GW corrections increase the band gap to almost 10%, and for specific atomic positions, the band structure shows a close value to the experimental one. For Bi2Te2S, despite increase in the band gap due to the GW corrections, possibility of bulk resistivity that can be significant for photovoltaic applications was observed.

The crystal structures of BiTeO 3I, NdTeO 3X (X=Cl, Br) and Bi 5TeO 8.5I 2: some crystal chemistry peculiarities of layered Bi(Ln)Te oxyhalides

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Berdonosov, Peter S.; Charkin, Dmitry O.; Kusainova, Ardak M.; Hervoches, Charles H.; Dolgikh, Valeriy A.; Lightfoot, Philip

2000-09-01

Four new layered oxyhalides related to the Sillen family have been prepared and characterized by Rietveld refinement of powder X-ray and neutron diffraction data. BiTeO 3I and NdTeO 3Br both adopt tetragonal symmetry, space group P4/ nmm (for BiTeO 3I, a=4.10811(8), c=27.988(1) Å; NdTeO 3Br, a=4.06603(7), c=26.922(1) Å, at 25°C). The structures are composed of triple and double fluorite-related mixed metal oxide layers separated by single and double halogen layers, in the sequence MTe 2O 5XXMTe 2O 5XM 2O 2X, which may be represented by the symbol X 13X 13X 22, where the subscript signifies the number of halogen layers and the superscript the number of metal sublayers within the fluorite block, by analogy with Sillen's notation. The double fluorite layers are occupied exclusively by Bi, whereas there is an ordered arrangement of Bi/Te within the triple fluorite layers, with Te exclusively occupying the outer sublayers of the block. NdTeO 3Cl adopts an orthorhombically distorted form of this structure type, space group Pmmn, a=4.08096(8), b=4.03441(8), c=25.7582(7) Å at 25°C. Bi 5TeO 8.5I 2 adopts a distorted, non-centrosymmetric version of the simpler X 13 structure type, space group Cmm2, a=5.6878(3), b=5.7230(3), c=9.7260(6) Å, consisting of single halogen layers sandwiched between triple fluorite layers, in which there is partial ordering of the Bi/Te cations.

Dispersion interactions between neighboring Bi atoms in (BiH3 )2 and Te(BiR2 )2.

PubMed

Haack, Rebekka; Schulz, Stephan; Jansen, Georg

2018-03-13

Triggered by the observation of a short Bi⋯Bi distance and a BiTeBi bond angle of only 86.6° in the crystal structure of bis(diethylbismuthanyl)tellurane quantum chemical computations on interactions between neighboring Bi atoms in Te(BiR 2 ) 2 molecules (R = H, Me, Et) and in (BiH 3 ) 2 were undertaken. Bi⋯Bi distances atoms were found to significantly shorten upon inclusion of the d shells of the heavy metal atoms into the electron correlation treatment, and it was confirmed that interaction energies from spin component-scaled second-order Møller-Plesset theory (SCS-MP2) agree well with coupled-cluster singles and doubles theory including perturbative triples (CCSD(T)). Density functional theory-based symmetry-adapted perturbation theory (DFT-SAPT) was used to study the anisotropy of the interplay of dispersion attraction and steric repulsion between the Bi atoms. Finally, geometries and relative stabilities of syn-syn and syn-anti conformers of Te(BiR 2 ) 2 (R = H, Me, Et) and interconversion barriers between them were computed. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Pressure-induced reinforcement of interfacial superconductivity in a Bi2Te3/Fe1+yTe heterostructure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shen, Junying; Heuckeroth, Claire; Deng, Yuhang; He, Qinglin; Liu, Hong Chao; Liang, Jing; Wang, Jiannong; Sou, Iam Keong; Schilling, James S.; Lortz, Rolf

2017-12-01

We investigate the hydrostatic pressure dependence of interfacial superconductivity occurring at the atomically sharp interface between two non-superconducting materials: the topological insulator (TI) Bi2Te3 and the parent compound Fe1+yTe of the chalcogenide iron-based superconductors. Under pressure, a significant increase in the superconducting transition temperature Tc is observed. We interpret our data in the context of a pressure-induced enhanced coupling of the Fe1+yTe interfacial layer with the Bi2Te3 surface state, which modifies the electronic properties of the interface layer in a way that superconductivity emerges and becomes further enhanced under pressure. This demonstrates the important role of the TI in the interfacial superconducting mechanism.

Hierarchical Bi2Te3 Nanostrings: Green Synthesis and Their Thermoelectric Properties.

PubMed

Song, Shuyan; Liu, Yu; Wang, Qishun; Pan, Jing; Sun, Yabin; Zhang, Lingling

2018-05-20

Bi2Te3 hierarchical nanostrings have been synthesized through a solvothermal approach with the assistance of sucrose. The hierarchical Bi2Te3 was supposed to be fabricated through a self-assembly process. Te nanorods first emerge with the reduction of TeO32- followed by heterogeneous nucleation of Bi2Te3 nanoplates on the surface and tips of Te nanorods. Te nanorods further transform into Bi2Te3 nanorods simultaneously with the nanoplates' growth leading to a hierarchical structure. Through controlling the reaction kinetics by adding different amount of ethylene glycol, the length of nanorods and the number of nanoplates could be tailored. The use of sucrose is vital to the formation of hierarchical structure because it not only serves as a template for the well-defined growth of Te nanorods but also promotes the heterogeneous nucleation of Bi2Te3 in the self-assembly process. The Bi2Te3 nanomaterial shows a moderate thermoelectric performance because of its hierarchical structure. This study shows a promising way to synthesize Bi2Te3-based nanostructures through environmental friendly approach. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Thermoelectric Properties in Fermi Level Tuned Topological Materials (Bi1-xSnx)2Te3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, Chan-Chieh; Shon, Won Hyuk; Rathnam, Lydia; Rhyee, Jong-Soo

2018-03-01

We investigated the thermoelectric properties of Sn-doped (Bi1-xSnx)2Te3 (x = 0, 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, and 0.7%) compounds, which is known as topological insulators. Fermi level tuning by Sn-doping can be justified by the n- to p-type transition with increasing Sn-doping concentration, as confirmed by Seebeck coefficient and Hall coefficient. Near x = 0.3 and 0.5%, the Fermi level resides inside the bulk band gap, resulting in a low Seebeck coefficient and increase of electrical resistivity. The magnetoconductivity with applying magnetic field showed weak antilocalization (WAL) effect for pristine Bi2Te3 while Sn-doped compounds do not follow the WAL behavior of magneto-conductivity, implying that the topological surface Dirac band contribution in magneto-conductivity is suppressed with decreasing the Fermi level by Sn-doping. This research can be applied to the topological composite of p-type/n-type topological materials by Fermi level tuning via Sn-doping in Bi2Te3 compounds.

Quantum Size Effects in Transport Properties of Bi2Te3 Topological Insulator Thin Films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rogacheva, E. I.; Budnik, A. V.; Nashchekina, O. N.; Meriuts, A. V.; Dresselhaus, M. S.

2017-07-01

Bi2Te3 compound and Bi2Te3-based solid solutions have attracted much attention as promising thermoelectric materials for refrigerating devices. The possibility of enhancing the thermoelectric efficiency in low-dimensional structures has stimulated studies of Bi2Te3 thin films. Now, interest in studying the transport properties of Bi2Te3 has grown sharply due to the observation of special properties characteristic of three-dimensional (3D) topological insulators in Bi2Te3. One of the possible manifestations of quantum size effects in two-dimensional structures is an oscillatory behavior of the dependences of transport properties on film thickness, d. The goal of this work is to summarize our earlier experimental results on the d-dependences of transport properties of Bi2Te3 thin films obtained by thermal evaporation in a vacuum on glass substrates, and to present our new results of theoretical calculations of the oscillations periods within the framework of the model of an infinitely deep potential well, which takes into account the dependence of the Fermi energy on d and the contribution of all energy subbands below the Fermi level to the conductivity. On the basis of the data obtained, some general regularities and specificity of the quantum size effects manifestation in 3D topological insulators are established.

Low-temperature MOCVD deposition of Bi2Te3 thin films using Et2BiTeEt as single source precursor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bendt, Georg; Gassa, Sanae; Rieger, Felix; Jooss, Christian; Schulz, Stephan

2018-05-01

Et2BiTeEt was used as single source precursor for the deposition of Bi2Te3 thin films on Si(1 0 0) substrates by metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) at very low substrate temperatures. Stoichiometric and crystalline Bi2Te3 films were grown at 230 °C, which is approximately 100 °C lower compared to conventional MOCVD processes using one metal organic precursors for each element. The Bi2Te3 films were characterized using scanning electron microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. The elemental composition of the films, which was determined by energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, was found to be strongly dependent of the substrate temperature.

MOVPE growth and transport characterization of Bi2-xSbxTe3-ySey films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuznetsov, P. I.; Yakushcheva, G. G.; Shchamkhalova, B. S.; Jitov, V. A.; Temiryazev, A. G.; Sizov, V. E.; Yapaskurt, V. O.

2018-02-01

We present a first study of films of the quaternary Bi2-xSbxTe3-ySey solid solutions on (0 0 0 1) sapphire substrates grown by atmospheric pressure MOVPE. Trimethylbismuth, trimethylantimony, diisopropylselenide and diethyltelluride were used as precursors. To passivate the free bonds of the substrate and to improve the epitaxy, a thin (15 nm) ZnTe buffer layer was first grown. EDX analysis of the films grown at a temperature of 445 °C and about 10-fold excess of chalcogen in the vapor phase indicates on their compliance with V2VI3 stoichiometry. AFM and SEM investigations showed that at the initial stage of deposition the Stranski-Krastanov growth mode is dominant. Complete coalescence of nanoislands occurs at a thickness about 60 nm and further film formation is in the 2D layer-by-layer growth mode. A high mole fraction of antimony in the vapor phase leads to bad crystalline quality of the films and even to their discontinuity. Transport properties of the Bi2-xSbxTe3-ySey films were evaluated using Van der Pauw Hall effect measurements in the range of temperatures of 10-300 K. Some films are always n- or p-type; in other samples the change of conductivity from p- to n-type was observed when the temperature decreases.

Anomalous thermoelectricity in strained Bi2Te3 films.

PubMed

Liu, Yucong; Chen, Jiadong; Deng, Huiyong; Hu, Gujin; Zhu, Daming; Dai, Ning

2016-09-07

Bi2Te3-based alloys have been intensively used for thermoelectric coolers and generators due to their high Seebeck coefficient S. So far, efforts to improve the S have been made mostly on changing the structures and components. Herein, we demonstrate an anomalous thermoelectricity in strained Bi2Te3 films, i.e., the value of S is obviously changed after reversing the direction of temperature gradient. Further theoretical and experimental analysis shows that it originates from the coupling of thermoelectric and flexoelectric effects caused by a stress gradient. Our finding provides a new avenue to adjust the S of Bi2Te3-based thermoelectric materials through flexoelectric polarization.

High Pressure X-Ray Diffraction Studies of Bi2-xSbxTe3 (x = 0,1,2)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jacobsen, M. K.; Kumar, R. S.; Cornelius, A. L.; Sinogeiken, S. V.; Nico, M. F.

2007-12-01

Recently, pressure tuning of the thermoelectric figure of merit has been reported for several materials Bi2Te3 based thermoelectric materials [2],[10],[12]. In order to investigate the bulk properties of Bi2Te3, Sb2Te3, and their solid solution in detail, we have performed structural studies up to 20 GPa. Our diffraction results show that all three compounds transform from the ambient pressure structure to a high pressure phase between 7 and 10 GPa. In addition, these diffraction results have been converted to Vinet and Holzapfel equations of state to test the claim of electronic topological transitions in these structures [3].

125Te NMR and Seebeck Effect in Bi 2Te 3 Synthesized from Stoichiometric and Te-Rich Melts

DOE PAGES

Levin, E. M.; Iowa State Univ., Ames, IA; Riedemann, T. M.; ...

2016-10-14

Bi 2Te 3 is a well-known thermoelectric material and, as a new form of quantum matter, a topological insulator. Variation of local chemical composition in Bi2Te3 results in formation of several types of atomic defects, including Bi and Te vacancies and Bi and Te antisite defects; these defects can strongly affect material functionality via generation of free electrons and/or holes. Nonuniform distribution of atomic defects produces electronic inhomogeneity, which can be detected by 125Te nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). Here we report on 125Te NMR and Seebeck effect (heat to electrical energy conversion) for two single crystalline samples: (#1) grown frommore » stoichiometric composition by Bridgman technique and (#2) grown out of Te-rich, high temperature flux. The Seebeck coefficients of these samples show p- and n-type conductivity, respectively, arising from different atomic defects. 125Te NMR spectra and spin–lattice relaxation measurements demonstrate that both Bi 2Te 3 samples are electronically inhomogeneous at the atomic scale, which can be attributed to a different Te environment due to spatial variation of the Bi/Te ratio and formation of atomic defects. In conclusion, correlations between 125Te NMR spectra, spin–lattice relaxation times, the Seebeck coefficients, carrier concentrations, and atomic defects are discussed. Our data demonstrate that 125Te NMR is an effective probe to study antisite defects in Bi 2Te 3.« less

125Te NMR and Seebeck Effect in Bi 2Te 3 Synthesized from Stoichiometric and Te-Rich Melts

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Levin, E. M.; Iowa State Univ., Ames, IA; Riedemann, T. M.

Bi 2Te 3 is a well-known thermoelectric material and, as a new form of quantum matter, a topological insulator. Variation of local chemical composition in Bi2Te3 results in formation of several types of atomic defects, including Bi and Te vacancies and Bi and Te antisite defects; these defects can strongly affect material functionality via generation of free electrons and/or holes. Nonuniform distribution of atomic defects produces electronic inhomogeneity, which can be detected by 125Te nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). Here we report on 125Te NMR and Seebeck effect (heat to electrical energy conversion) for two single crystalline samples: (#1) grown frommore » stoichiometric composition by Bridgman technique and (#2) grown out of Te-rich, high temperature flux. The Seebeck coefficients of these samples show p- and n-type conductivity, respectively, arising from different atomic defects. 125Te NMR spectra and spin–lattice relaxation measurements demonstrate that both Bi 2Te 3 samples are electronically inhomogeneous at the atomic scale, which can be attributed to a different Te environment due to spatial variation of the Bi/Te ratio and formation of atomic defects. In conclusion, correlations between 125Te NMR spectra, spin–lattice relaxation times, the Seebeck coefficients, carrier concentrations, and atomic defects are discussed. Our data demonstrate that 125Te NMR is an effective probe to study antisite defects in Bi 2Te 3.« less

Anomalous thermoelectricity in strained Bi2Te3 films

PubMed Central

Liu, Yucong; Chen, Jiadong; Deng, Huiyong; Hu, Gujin; Zhu, Daming; Dai, Ning

2016-01-01

Bi2Te3-based alloys have been intensively used for thermoelectric coolers and generators due to their high Seebeck coefficient S. So far, efforts to improve the S have been made mostly on changing the structures and components. Herein, we demonstrate an anomalous thermoelectricity in strained Bi2Te3 films, i.e., the value of S is obviously changed after reversing the direction of temperature gradient. Further theoretical and experimental analysis shows that it originates from the coupling of thermoelectric and flexoelectric effects caused by a stress gradient. Our finding provides a new avenue to adjust the S of Bi2Te3-based thermoelectric materials through flexoelectric polarization. PMID:27600406

GW quasiparticle energy study of ternary tetradymite Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 2}Se and Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 2}S thin films

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Shuaibu, Alhassan; Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Nigerian Defence Academy, P.M., 2109. Kaduna Nigeria; Rahman, Md. Mahmudur

In this work, we have evaluated the quasiparticle energies of ternary tetradymite Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 2}Se and Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 2}S using first-principles calculation within the G{sub 0}W{sub 0} methods. We have also performed a broad convergence tests in order to investigate the quasiparticle corrections to the structural parameters and to the semi core d electrons in both of the compounds. For each case, we have calculated the many-body corrections within a one-shot GW method of the compounds. Our results have shown that for Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 2}Se the GW corrections increase the band gap to almost 10%, and for specific atomic positions,more » the band structure shows a close value to the experimental one. For Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 2}S, despite increase in the band gap due to the GW corrections, possibility of bulk resistivity that can be significant for photovoltaic applications was observed.« less

Fundamental and progress of Bi2Te3-based thermoelectric materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hong, Min; Chen, Zhi-Gang; Zou, Jin

2018-04-01

Thermoelectric materials, enabling the directing conversion between heat and electricity, are one of the promising candidates for overcoming environmental pollution and the upcoming energy shortage caused by the over-consumption of fossil fuels. Bi2Te3-based alloys are the classical thermoelectric materials working near room temperature. Due to the intensive theoretical investigations and experimental demonstrations, significant progress has been achieved to enhance the thermoelectric performance of Bi2Te3-based thermoelectric materials. In this review, we first explored the fundamentals of thermoelectric effect and derived the equations for thermoelectric properties. On this basis, we studied the effect of material parameters on thermoelectric properties. Then, we analyzed the features of Bi2Te3-based thermoelectric materials, including the lattice defects, anisotropic behavior and the strong bipolar conduction at relatively high temperature. Then we accordingly summarized the strategies for enhancing the thermoelectric performance, including point defect engineering, texture alignment, and band gap enlargement. Moreover, we highlighted the progress in decreasing thermal conductivity using nanostructures fabricated by solution grown method, ball milling, and melt spinning. Lastly, we employed modeling analysis to uncover the principles of anisotropy behavior and the achieved enhancement in Bi2Te3, which will enlighten the enhancement of thermoelectric performance in broader materials.

Large cooling differentials and high heat flux capability with p-type Bi2Te3/Sb2Te3 and n-type Bi2Te3/Bi2SexTe3-x Superlattice Thermoelectric Devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bulman, Gary; Siivola, Ed; Wiitala, Ryan; Grant, Brian; Pierce, Jonathan; Venkatasubramanian, Rama

2007-03-01

Thin film superlattice (SL) based thermoelectric (TE) devices offer the potential for improved efficiency and high heat flux cooling over conventional bulk materials. Recently, we have demonstrated external cooling of 55K and heat pumping capacity of 128 W/cm^2. These high heat fluxes in thin film devices, while attractive for cooling hot-spots in electronics, also make the device performance sensitive to various thermal resistances in the device structure. We will discuss advances in the cooling performance of Bi2Te3-based SL TE devices and describe a method to extract device material parameters, including thermal resistance, from measurements of their δT-I-V characteristics. These parameters will be compared to values obtained through Hall and Seebeck coefficient measurement on epitaxial materials. Results will be presented for both single couple and multi-couple modules, as well as multi-stage cascaded devices made with these materials. Single stage cooling couples with δTmax of 57.8K (Tc˜242K) and multi-stage modules with δTmax˜92.2K (Tc˜209K) have been measured. G.E. Bulman, E. Siivola, B. Shen and R. Venkatasubramanian, Appl. Phys. Lett. 89, 122117 (2006).

Synthesis, crystal structure, and properties of KSbO{sub 3}-type Bi{sub 3}Mn{sub 1.9}Te{sub 1.1}O{sub 11}

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Li Manrong; Retuerto, Maria; Bok Go, Yong

2013-01-15

Single crystals of Bi{sub 3}Mn{sub 1.9}Te{sub 1.1}O{sub 11} were prepared from NaCl+KCl flux. This compound adopts KSbO{sub 3}-type crystal structure as evidenced by electron and single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. The three-dimensional channel structure is formed by corner-sharing octahedral (Mn{sub 0.63}Te{sub 0.37}){sub 2}O{sub 10} dimers and two identical (Bi1){sub 4}(Bi2){sub 2} interpenetrating lattices. The intra-dimer Mn/Te-Mn/Te distances in Bi{sub 3}Mn{sub 1.9}Te{sub 1.1}O{sub 11} are short and are consistent with weak metal-metal interactions. The mixed oxidation state of manganese and the edge-sharing octahedral features are confirmed by X-ray near edge absorption spectroscopy measurements, which indicate Bi{sub 3}(Mn{sup III}{sub 1.1}Mn{sup IV}{sub 0.8})Te{supmore » VI}{sub 1.1}O{sub 11} with 57.7% Mn{sup 3+} and 42.3% Mn{sup 4+}. The partial substitution of Te for Mn perturbs long-range magnetic interactions, thereby destroying the ferromagnetic ordering found in Bi{sub 3}Mn{sub 3}O{sub 11} (T{sub C}=150 K). - Graphical abstract: Single crystal of Bi{sub 3}Mn{sub 1.9}Te{sub 1.1}O{sub 11} was grown from NaCl+KCl binary flux, suggesting that the high pressure Bi{sub 3}Mn{sub 3}O{sub 11} phase can be stabilized by partial substitution of Mn by Te at ambient pressure. Bi{sub 3}Mn{sub 1.9}Te{sub 1.1}O{sub 11} adopts a typical three dimensional KSbO{sub 3}-type crystal structure with three interpenetrating lattices and weak intra-dimmer metal-metal interaction caused by the d electrons of Mn. The edge-shared (Mn{sub 0.63}Te{sub 0.37}){sub 2}O{sub 10} octahedral dimer and mixed oxidation state of manganese (Bi{sub 3}(Mn{sup III}{sub 1.1}Mn{sup IV}{sub 0.8})Te{sup VI}{sub 1.1}O{sub 11} with 57.7% Mn{sup 3+} and 42.3% Mn{sup 4+}) features were evidenced by X-ray absorption near edge spectroscopy. Compared with Bi{sub 3}Mn{sub 3}O{sub 11}, the Te substituted Bi{sub 3}Mn{sub 1.9}Te{sub 1.1}O{sub 11} relaxes the crystal structure, but destroys the long

Interfacial Reaction and Shear Strength of SnAgCu/Ni/Bi2Te3-Based TE Materials During Aging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jing, Hongyang; Li, Yuan; Xu, Lianyong; Han, Yongdian; Lu, Guoquan; Zhang, Hao

2015-12-01

As a diffusion barrier layer, Ni is widely applied in power electronics packaging, especially in thermoelectric devices. This paper presents the variation of Ni diffusion barrier layer during aging and failure mechanisms of thermoelectric device joints. The thermoelectric joint consists of Sn96.5Ag3.0Cu0.5 (SAC305) solder and Bi2Te3-based thermoelectric materials such as Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3 and Bi1.8Sb0.2Se0.15Te2.85 during service. The result shows that with the increasing aging time, Ni layer was constantly consumed by SAC305 and Bi2Te3-based thermoelectric materials simultaneously. The reaction products are (Cu,Ni)6Sn5 and NiTe or Ni(Bi,Te), respectively. Besides, the shear strength of SAC305/Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3 joint or SAC305/Bi1.8Sb0.2Se0.15Te2.85 joint gets gradually decreased and thermoelectric conversion performance gets worse. Meantime, the different failure mechanisms are also compared between SAC305/Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3 couple joints and SAC305/Bi1.8Sb0.2Se0.15Te2.85 couple joints.

High thermoelectric potential of Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} alloyed GeTe-rich phases

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Madar, Naor; Givon, Tom; Mogilyansky, Dmitry

2016-07-21

In an attempt to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels, associated with severe environmental effects, the current research is focused on the identification of the thermoelectric potential of p-type (GeTe){sub 1−x}(Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3}){sub x} alloys, with x values of up to 20%. Higher solubility limit of Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} in GeTe, than previously reported, was identified around ∼9%, extending the doping potential of GeTe by the Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} donor dopant, for an effective compensation of the high inherent hole concentration of GeTe toward thermoelectrically optimal values. Around the solubility limit of 9%, an electronic optimization resulted in an impressivemore » maximal thermoelectric figure of merit, ZT, of ∼1.55 at ∼410 °C, which is one of the highest ever reported for any p-type GeTe-rich alloys. Beyond the solubility limit, a Fermi Level Pinning effect of stabilizing the Seebeck coefficient was observed in the x = 12%–17% range, leading to stabilization of the maximal ZTs over an extended temperature range; an effect that was associated with the potential of the governed highly symmetric Ge{sub 8}Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 11} and Ge{sub 4}Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 7} phases to create high valence band degeneracy with several bands and multiple hole pockets on the Fermi surface. At this compositional range, co-doping with additional dopants, creating shallow impurity levels (in contrast to the deep lying level created by Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3}), was suggested for further electronic optimization of the thermoelectric properties.« less

Effects of Mass Fluctuation on Thermal Transport Properties in Bulk Bi2Te3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Ben; Zhai, Pengcheng; Yang, Xuqiu; Li, Guodong

2017-05-01

In this paper, we applied large-scale molecular dynamics and lattice dynamics to study the influence of mass fluctuation on thermal transport properties in bulk Bi2Te3, namely thermal conductivity ( K), phonon density of state (PDOS), group velocity ( v g), and mean free path ( l). The results show that total atomic mass change can affect the relevant vibrational frequency on the micro level and heat transfer rate in the macro statistic, hence leading to the strength variation of the anharmonic phonon processes (Umklapp scattering) in the defect-free Bi2Te3 bulk. Moreover, it is interesting to find that the anharmonicity of Bi2Te3 can be also influenced by atomic differences of the structure such as the mass distribution in the primitive cell. Considering the asymmetry of the crystal structure and interatomic forces, it can be concluded by phonon frequency, lifetime, and velocity calculation that acoustic-optical phonon scattering shows the structure-sensitivity to the mass distribution and complicates the heat transfer mechanism, hence resulting in the low lattice thermal conductivity of Bi2Te3. This study is helpful for designing the material with tailored thermal conductivity via atomic substitution.

Thermoelectric properties of Tl and I dual-doped Bi2Te3-based alloys

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Fang; He, Qinglin; Tang, Mingsheng; Song, Hongzhang

2018-04-01

TlxBi2‑xTe3‑xIx (x = 0, 0.05, 0.1 and 0.2) flower-like nanopowders were prepared successfully by the hydrothermal method. Then, the synthesized nanoparticles were pressed into bulks by hot-pressing. The thermoelectric (TE) properties of the TlxBi2‑xTe3‑xIx bulk samples were investigated and discussed. The results showed that the influences of Tl doping on the electrical resistivity and Seebeck coefficients of the Bi2Te3 is over that of I doping. Thus, the power factors of the dual-doped bulks are all less than that of the Bi2Te3 bulk. The thermal conductivities of the TlxBi2‑xTe3‑xIx bulk samples also remain at lower values. As a result, the ZT value of the optimized doped bulk Tl0.1Bi1.9Te2.9I0.1 attains a value of 1.1 at 398 K.

Pseudogap and proximity effect in the Bi2Te3/Fe1+yTe interfacial superconductor.

PubMed

He, M Q; Shen, J Y; Petrović, A P; He, Q L; Liu, H C; Zheng, Y; Wong, C H; Chen, Q H; Wang, J N; Law, K T; Sou, I K; Lortz, R

2016-09-02

In the interfacial superconductor Bi2Te3/Fe1+yTe, two dimensional superconductivity occurs in direct vicinity to the surface state of a topological insulator. If this state were to become involved in superconductivity, under certain conditions a topological superconducting state could be formed, which is of high interest due to the possibility of creating Majorana fermionic states. We report directional point-contact spectroscopy data on the novel Bi2Te3/Fe1+yTe interfacial superconductor for a Bi2Te3 thickness of 9 quintuple layers, bonded by van der Waals epitaxy to a Fe1+yTe film at an atomically sharp interface. Our data show highly unconventional superconductivity, which appears as complex as in the cuprate high temperature superconductors. A very large superconducting twin-gap structure is replaced by a pseudogap above ~12 K which persists up to 40 K. While the larger gap shows unconventional order parameter symmetry and is attributed to a thin FeTe layer in proximity to the interface, the smaller gap is associated with superconductivity induced via the proximity effect in the topological insulator Bi2Te3.

Pseudogap and proximity effect in the Bi2Te3/Fe1+yTe interfacial superconductor

PubMed Central

He, M. Q.; Shen, J. Y.; Petrović, A. P.; He, Q. L.; Liu, H. C.; Zheng, Y.; Wong, C. H.; Chen, Q. H.; Wang, J. N.; Law, K. T.; Sou, I. K.; Lortz, R.

2016-01-01

In the interfacial superconductor Bi2Te3/Fe1+yTe, two dimensional superconductivity occurs in direct vicinity to the surface state of a topological insulator. If this state were to become involved in superconductivity, under certain conditions a topological superconducting state could be formed, which is of high interest due to the possibility of creating Majorana fermionic states. We report directional point-contact spectroscopy data on the novel Bi2Te3/Fe1+yTe interfacial superconductor for a Bi2Te3 thickness of 9 quintuple layers, bonded by van der Waals epitaxy to a Fe1+yTe film at an atomically sharp interface. Our data show highly unconventional superconductivity, which appears as complex as in the cuprate high temperature superconductors. A very large superconducting twin-gap structure is replaced by a pseudogap above ~12 K which persists up to 40 K. While the larger gap shows unconventional order parameter symmetry and is attributed to a thin FeTe layer in proximity to the interface, the smaller gap is associated with superconductivity induced via the proximity effect in the topological insulator Bi2Te3. PMID:27587000

Synthesis, characterisation and thermoelectric properties of the oxytelluride Bi{sub 2}O{sub 2}Te

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Luu, Son D.N.; Department of Chemistry, University of Reading, Whiteknights, Reading RG6 6AD; Vaqueiro, Paz, E-mail: p.vaqueiro@reading.ac.uk

2015-03-15

Bi{sub 2}O{sub 2}Te was synthesised from a stoichiometric mixture of Bi, Bi{sub 2}O{sub 3} and Te by a solid state reaction. Analysis of powder X-ray diffraction data indicates that this material crystallises in the anti-ThCr{sub 2}Si{sub 2} structure type (space group I4/mmm), with lattice parameters a=3.98025(4) and c=12.70391(16) Å. The electrical and thermal transport properties of Bi{sub 2}O{sub 2}Te were investigated as a function of temperature over the temperature range 300≤T (K)≤665. These measurements indicate that Bi{sub 2}O{sub 2}Te is an n-type semiconductor, with a band gap of 0.23 eV. The thermal conductivity of Bi{sub 2}O{sub 2}Te is remarkably lowmore » for a crystalline material, with a value of only 0.91 W m{sup −1} K{sup −1} at room temperature. - Graphical abstract: Bi{sub 2}O{sub 2}Te, which crystallises in the anti-ThCr{sub 2}Si{sub 2} structure type, is an n-type semiconductor with a remarkably low thermal conductivity. - Highlights: • Bi{sub 2}O{sub 2}Te crystallises in the anti-ThCr{sub 2}Si{sub 2} structure type. • Bi{sub 2}O{sub 2}Te is an n-type semiconductor, with a band gap of 0.23 eV. • The thermal conductivity of Bi{sub 2}O{sub 2}Te approaches values found for amorphous solids. • The thermoelectric figure of merit of undoped Bi{sub 2}O{sub 2}Te reaches 0.13 at 573 K.« less

High thermoelectric properties of (Sb, Bi)2Te3 nanowire arrays by tilt-structure engineering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tan, Ming; Hao, Yanming; Deng, Yuan; Chen, Jingyi

2018-06-01

In this paper, we present an innovative tilt-structure design concept for (Sb, Bi)2Te3 nanowire array assembled by high-quality nanowires with well oriented growth, utilizing a simple vacuum thermal evaporation technique. The unusual tilt-structure (Sb, Bi)2Te3 nanowire array with a tilted angle of 45° exhibits a high thermoelectric dimensionless figure-of-merit ZT = 1.72 at room temperature. The relatively high ZT value in contrast to that of previously reported (Sb, Bi)2Te3 materials and the vertical (Sb, Bi)2Te3 nanowire arrays evidently reveals the crucial role of the unique tilt-structure in favorably influencing carrier and phonon transport properties, resulting in a significantly improved ZT value. The transport mechanism of such tilt-structure is proposed and investigated. This method opens a new approach to optimize nano-structure in thin films for next-generation thermoelectric materials and devices.

Bulk photovoltaic effect at infrared wavelength in strained Bi2Te3 films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Yucong; Chen, Jiadong; Wang, Chao; Deng, Huiyong; Zhu, Da-Ming; Hu, Gujin; Chen, Xiaoshuang; Dai, Ning

2016-12-01

As a prominent three-dimensional (3-D) topological insulator, traditional thermoelectric material Bi2Te3 has re-attracted greater interest in recent years. Herein, we demonstrate for the first time that c-axis oriented strained Bi2Te3 films exhibit the bulk photovoltaic effect (BPVE) at infrared wavelengths, which was only found in wide band-gap ferroelectric materials before. Moreover, further experiments show that the bulk photovoltaic effect probably comes from the flexoelectric effect which was induced by the stress gradient in strained Bi2Te3 films. And we anticipate that the results are generalizable to other layer-structured or two-dimensional (2-D) materials, e.g., Bi2Se3 and MoS2.

Stellar laboratories . IX. New Se v, Sr iv-vii, Te vi, and I vi oscillator strengths and the Se, Sr, Te, and I abundances in the hot white dwarfs G191-B2B and RE 0503-289

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rauch, T.; Quinet, P.; Knörzer, M.; Hoyer, D.; Werner, K.; Kruk, J. W.; Demleitner, M.

2017-10-01

Context. To analyze spectra of hot stars, advanced non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (NLTE) model-atmosphere techniques are mandatory. Reliable atomic data is crucial for the calculation of such model atmospheres. Aims: We aim to calculate new Sr iv-vii oscillator strengths to identify for the first time Sr spectral lines in hot white dwarf (WD) stars and to determine the photospheric Sr abundances. To measure the abundances of Se, Te, and I in hot WDs, we aim to compute new Se v, Te vi, and I vi oscillator strengths. Methods: To consider radiative and collisional bound-bound transitions of Se v, Sr iv - vii, Te vi, and I vi in our NLTE atmosphere models, we calculated oscillator strengths for these ions. Results: We newly identified four Se v, 23 Sr v, 1 Te vi, and three I vi lines in the ultraviolet (UV) spectrum of RE 0503-289. We measured a photospheric Sr abundance of 6.5+ 3.8-2.4× 10-4 (mass fraction, 9500-23 800 times solar). We determined the abundances of Se (1.6+ 0.9-0.6× 10-3, 8000-20 000), Te (2.5+ 1.5-0.9× 10-4, 11 000-28 000), and I (1.4+ 0.8-0.5× 10-5, 2700-6700). No Se, Sr, Te, and I line was found in the UV spectra of G191-B2B and we could determine only upper abundance limits of approximately 100 times solar. Conclusions: All identified Se v, Sr v, Te vi, and I vi lines in the UV spectrum of RE 0503-289 were simultaneously well reproduced with our newly calculated oscillator strengths. Based on observations with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, obtained at the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under NASA contract NAS5-26666. Based on observations made with the NASA-CNES-CSA Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer. Full Tables A.15 to A.21 are only available via the German Astrophysical Virtual Observatory (GAVO) service TOSS (http://dc.g-vo.org/TOSS).

Thermal conductivity of Bi2(SexTe1-x)3 alloy films grown by molecular beam epitaxy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yoo, Taehee; Lee, Eungkyu; Dong, Sining; Li, Xiang; Liu, Xinyu; Furdyna, Jacek K.; Dobrowolska, Margaret; Luo, Tengfei

2017-06-01

We studied the thermal conductivity of Bi2Se3, Bi2Te3, and their alloy Bi2(SexTe1-x)3 at room temperature using time-domain thermoreflectance measurements. The Bi2(SexTe1-x)3 films with various concentrations of Se and Te prepared by molecular beam epitaxy on GaAs substrates were investigated to study the dependence of thermal conductivity on film composition. We observed that the Bi2(SexTe1-x)3 ternary alloys can have much lower thermal conductivity values compared to those of Bi2Se3 and Bi2Te3. These results may provide useful information for developing and engineering low thermal conductivity materials for thermoelectric applications.

Annealing-Induced Bi Bilayer on Bi2Te3 Investigated via Quasi-Particle-Interference Mapping.

PubMed

Schouteden, Koen; Govaerts, Kirsten; Debehets, Jolien; Thupakula, Umamahesh; Chen, Taishi; Li, Zhe; Netsou, Asteriona; Song, Fengqi; Lamoen, Dirk; Van Haesendonck, Chris; Partoens, Bart; Park, Kyungwha

2016-09-27

Topological insulators (TIs) are renowned for their exotic topological surface states (TSSs) that reside in the top atomic layers, and hence, detailed knowledge of the surface top atomic layers is of utmost importance. Here we present the remarkable morphology changes of Bi2Te3 surfaces, which have been freshly cleaved in air, upon subsequent systematic annealing in ultrahigh vacuum and the resulting effects on the local and area-averaging electronic properties of the surface states, which are investigated by combining scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS), and Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) experiments with density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Our findings demonstrate that the annealing induces the formation of a Bi bilayer atop the Bi2Te3 surface. The adlayer results in n-type doping, and the atomic defects act as scattering centers of the TSS electrons. We also investigated the annealing-induced Bi bilayer surface on Bi2Te3 via voltage-dependent quasi-particle-interference (QPI) mapping of the surface local density of states and via comparison with the calculated constant-energy contours and QPI patterns. We observed closed hexagonal patterns in the Fourier transform of real-space QPI maps with secondary outer spikes. DFT calculations attribute these complex QPI patterns to the appearance of a "second" cone due to the surface charge transfer between the Bi bilayer and the Bi2Te3. Annealing in ultrahigh vacuum offers a facile route for tuning of the topological properties and may yield similar results for other topological materials.

Structural and Galvanomagnetic properties in Mn-Bi2Te3 thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bidinakis, K.; Speliotis, Th.

2017-12-01

Bismuth-based binary chalcogenide compounds such as Bi2Te3 and Bi2Se3 are well known materials for their excellent thermoelectric properties due to their near-gap electronic structure. In the last few years these materials have received attention for exhibiting new physics of 3D topological insulators (TI). Possible applications of TI based devices range from quantum computing, spin based logic and memory to electrodynamics. The 3D TIs present spin-momentum-locked surface states by time reversal symmetry (TRS). Introducing magnetic doping in a TI, brakes the TRS and is predicted to open the gap at Dirac point, resulting in exotic quantum phenomena. This interaction between magnetism and topologically protected states is of potential attention for applications in modern spintronics. Quantum phenomena such as weak antilocalization observed in these nanostructures are described. In this work, granular Mn-Bi2Te3 thin films were grown by DC magnetron sputtering on Si(111) substrates and were submitted to ex situ annealing. We present results for the crystal structure of sputtered and annealed films characterized with X-ray diffraction and high-resolution scanning electron microscopy (HRSEM). The surface analysis was studied with atomic force microscopy (AFM). Magnetotransport measurements were performed using standard four probe technique with Hall and MR configurations, with perpendicular magnetic fields up to 9T and temperatures from 300 to 3K.

Crystal growth of Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} and noble cleaved (0001) surface properties

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Atuchin, V.V., E-mail: atuchin@thermo.isp.nsc.ru; Functional Electronics Laboratory, Tomsk State University, Tomsk 634050; Golyashov, V.A.

2016-04-15

A high quality Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} crystal has been grown by Bridgman method with the use of rotating heat field. The phase purity and bulk structural quality of the crystal have been verified by XRD analysis and rocking curve observation. The atomically smooth Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3}(0001) surface with an excellent crystallographic quality is formed by cleavage in the air. The chemical and microstructural properties of the surface have been evaluated with RHEED, AFM, STM, SE and XPS. The Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3}(0001) cleaved surface is formed by atomically smooth terraces with the height of the elemental step of ~1.04±0.1 nm, asmore » estimated by AFM. There is no surface oxidation process detected over a month keeping in the air at normal conditions, as shown by comparative core level photoelectron spectroscopy. - Graphical abstract: A high quality Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} crystal has been grown by Bridgman method with the use of rotating heat field and the Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3}(0001) cleaved surface has been evaluated with RHEED, AFM, STM, SE and XPS. - Highlights: • High-quality Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} crystal of 10 mm in diameter and 50 mm long have been grown. • The high-purity cleaved Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3}(0001) surface has been evaluated by RHEED, AFM, STM and XPS methods. • The Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} surface covered by atomically smooth (0001) terraces is chemically stable for a long time.« less

Superconductivity with twofold symmetry in Bi2Te3/FeTe0.55Se0.45 heterostructures.

PubMed

Chen, Mingyang; Chen, Xiaoyu; Yang, Huan; Du, Zengyi; Wen, Hai-Hu

2018-06-01

Topological superconductors are an interesting and frontier topic in condensed matter physics. In the superconducting state, an order parameter will be established with the basic or subsidiary symmetry of the crystalline lattice. In doped Bi 2 Se 3 or Bi 2 Te 3 with a basic threefold symmetry, it was predicted, however, that bulk superconductivity with order parameters of twofold symmetry may exist because of the presence of odd parity. We report the proximity effect-induced superconductivity in the Bi 2 Te 3 thin film on top of the iron-based superconductor FeTe 0.55 Se 0.45 . By using the quasiparticle interference technique, we demonstrate clear evidence of twofold symmetry of the superconducting gap. The gap minimum is along one of the main crystalline axes following the so-called Δ 4 y notation. This is also accompanied by the elongated vortex shape mapped out by the density of states within the superconducting gap. Our results provide an easily accessible platform for investigating possible topological superconductivity in Bi 2 Te 3 /FeTe 0.55 Se 0.45 heterostructures.

Superconductivity with twofold symmetry in Bi2Te3/FeTe0.55Se0.45 heterostructures

PubMed Central

Du, Zengyi

2018-01-01

Topological superconductors are an interesting and frontier topic in condensed matter physics. In the superconducting state, an order parameter will be established with the basic or subsidiary symmetry of the crystalline lattice. In doped Bi2Se3 or Bi2Te3 with a basic threefold symmetry, it was predicted, however, that bulk superconductivity with order parameters of twofold symmetry may exist because of the presence of odd parity. We report the proximity effect–induced superconductivity in the Bi2Te3 thin film on top of the iron-based superconductor FeTe0.55Se0.45. By using the quasiparticle interference technique, we demonstrate clear evidence of twofold symmetry of the superconducting gap. The gap minimum is along one of the main crystalline axes following the so-called Δ4y notation. This is also accompanied by the elongated vortex shape mapped out by the density of states within the superconducting gap. Our results provide an easily accessible platform for investigating possible topological superconductivity in Bi2Te3/FeTe0.55Se0.45 heterostructures. PMID:29888330

Design and Fabrication of Multifunctional Portable Bi2Te3-Based Thermoelectric Camping Lamp

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Yi; Li, Gongping

2018-05-01

Camping lamps have been widely used in the lighting, power supply, and intelligent electronic equipment fields. However, applications of traditional chemical and solar camping lamps are largely limited by the physical size of the source and operating conditions. A new prototype multifunctional portable Bi2Te3-based thermoelectric camping lamp (TECL) has been designed and fabricated. Ten parallel light-emitting diodes were lit directly by a Bi2Te3-based thermoelectric generator (TEG). The highest short-circuit current of 0.38 A and open-circuit voltage of 4.2 V were obtained at temperature difference of 115 K. This TECL is attractive for use in multifunctional and extreme applications as it integrates a portable heat source, high-performance TEG, and power management unit.

Design and Fabrication of Multifunctional Portable Bi2Te3-Based Thermoelectric Camping Lamp

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Yi; Li, Gongping

2018-07-01

Camping lamps have been widely used in the lighting, power supply, and intelligent electronic equipment fields. However, applications of traditional chemical and solar camping lamps are largely limited by the physical size of the source and operating conditions. A new prototype multifunctional portable Bi2Te3-based thermoelectric camping lamp (TECL) has been designed and fabricated. Ten parallel light-emitting diodes were lit directly by a Bi2Te3-based thermoelectric generator (TEG). The highest short-circuit current of 0.38 A and open-circuit voltage of 4.2 V were obtained at temperature difference of 115 K. This TECL is attractive for use in multifunctional and extreme applications as it integrates a portable heat source, high-performance TEG, and power management unit.

Size effect on thermoelectric properties of Bi2Te3 nanoparticles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Choudhary, K. K.; Sharma, Uttam; Lodhi, Pavitra Devi; Kaurav, Netram

2018-05-01

Bi2Te3 nanoparticles exhibit size dependent thermoelectric properties which gives an opportunity to tune the size for optimization of the thermoelectric figure of merit (ZT). We have quantitatively analyzed the thermoelectric properties of Bi2Te3 using phonon scattering mechanism by incorporating the scattering of phonons with defects, grain boundaries, electrons and Umklapp phonon scatterings. The maximum value of ZT = 0.92 is obtained at T = 400 K for 30 nm Bi2Te3 nanoparticles in comparison to ZT = 0.45 for 150 nm nanoparticles at the same temperature. With decrease in size of nanoparticles interface volume ratio increases which increase the phonon scatterings with grain boundaries and point defects, results in decrease in thermal conductivity due to reduction in mean free path of phonons. As a result of decrease in thermal conductivity (κ), Seeback coefficient (S) and ZT increases.

GW study of topological insulators Bi2Se3, Bi2Te3, and Sb2Te3: Beyond the perturbative one-shot approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aguilera, Irene; Friedrich, Christoph; Bihlmayer, Gustav; Blügel, Stefan

2013-07-01

We present GW calculations of the topological insulators Bi2Se3, Bi2Te3, and Sb2Te3 within the all-electron full-potential linearized augmented-plane-wave formalism. Quasiparticle effects produce significant qualitative changes in the band structures of these materials when compared to density functional theory (DFT), especially at the Γ point, where band inversion takes place. There, the widely used perturbative one-shot GW approach can produce unphysical band dispersions, as the quasiparticle wave functions are forced to be identical to the noninteracting single-particle states. We show that a treatment beyond the perturbative approach, which incorporates the off-diagonal GW matrix elements and thus enables many-body hybridization to be effective in the quasiparticle wave functions, is crucial in these cases to describe the characteristics of the band inversion around the Γ point in an appropriate way. In addition, this beyond one-shot GW approach allows us to calculate the values of the Z2 topological invariants and compare them with those previously obtained within DFT.

Electronic structure and x-ray magnetic circular dichroism in Mn-doped topological insulators Bi2Se3 and Bi2Te3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Antonov, V. N.; Bekenov, L. V.; Uba, S.; Ernst, A.

2017-12-01

We studied the structural, electronic, and magnetic properties of Mn-doped topological insulators Bi2Se3 and Bi2Te3 within the density-functional theory (DFT) using the generalized gradient approximation (GGA) in the framework of the fully relativistic spin-polarized Dirac linear muffin-tin orbital band-structure method. The x-ray absorption spectra (XAS) and x-ray magnetic circular dichroism at the Mn K and L2 ,3 edges were investigated theoretically from first principles. The calculated results are in good agreement with experimental data. The complex fine structure of the Mn L2 ,3 XAS in Mn-doped Bi2Se3 and Bi2Te3 was found to be not compatible with a pure Mn3 + valency state. Its interpretation demands mixed valent states. The theoretically calculated x-ray emission spectra at the Mn K and L2 ,3 edges are also presented and analyzed.

Enhancing figure-of-merit of n-type Bi2Te3-xSex

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yan, Xiao; Yang, Jian; Ma, Yi; Poudel, Bed; Lan, Yucheng; Wang, Dezhi; Ren, Zhifeng; Hao, Qing; Chen, Gang

2008-03-01

Themoelectric materials with high dimensionless figure-of-merit (ZT) are greatly demanded in energy industry, among which bismuth telluride (Bi2Te3) exhibits decent ZT around room temperature. However, thermal conductivity of Bi2Te3 is still high which limits its wider use for low temperature cooling devices. Here we investigate nanostructured bulk n-type Bi2Te3-xSex by reducing the thermal conductivity via increased phonon scattering of the significantly increased grain boundaries due to nano size grains. We first make alloyed nanopowders by mechanical alloying a mixture of elements with the right ratio and then 100% nanostructured samples by hot press.

High pressure X-ray diffraction studies on Bi2-xSbxTe3 (x=0,1,2) materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jacobsen, Matthew; Kumar, Ravhi; Cornelius, Andrew

2007-06-01

Recently Bi2Te3 based thermoelectric materials have gained importance due to their high thermoelectric figure of merit in thin films [3]. Pressure tuning of the thermoelectric figure of merit has been reported for several materials [1],[2]. In order to investigate the bulk properties of Bi2Te3, Sb2Te3, and their solid solution in detail, we have performed structural studies up to 20 GPa. Our diffraction results show that all three compounds transform from the ambient pressure structure to a high pressure phase between 5 and 7 GPa. Details of the results will be discussed in this presentation. [1]Chen, G., Dresselhaus, M.S., Dresselhaus, G., Fleurial, J.-P., and Caillat, T. Recent developments in themoelectric materials. International Materials Reviews, 48, 45-66 (2003). [2]Rowe, D.M. CRC Handbook of Thermoelectric Materials. CRC Press, 1995. [3]Venkatasubramanian, R., Silvola, E., Colpitts, T., and O'Quinn, B. Thin-film thermoelectric devices with high room-temperature figures of merit. Nature, 413, 597-602, 2001.

Origin of the low critical observing temperature of the quantum anomalous Hall effect in V-doped (Bi, Sb) 2Te 3 film

DOE PAGES

Li, W.; Claassen, M.; Chang, Cui -Zu; ...

2016-09-07

The experimental realization of the quantum anomalous Hall (QAH) effect in magnetically-doped (Bi, Sb) 2Te 3 films stands out as a landmark of modern condensed matter physics. However, ultra-low temperatures down to few tens of mK are needed to reach the quantization of Hall resistance, which is two orders of magnitude lower than the ferromagnetic phase transition temperature of the films. Here, we systematically study the band structure of V-doped (Bi, Sb) 2Te 3 thin films by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) and show unambiguously that the bulk valence band (BVB) maximum lies higher in energy than the surface state Diracmore » point. Finally, our results demonstrate clear evidence that localization of BVB carriers plays an active role and can account for the temperature discrepancy.« less

Investigation of radiation shielding properties for MeO-PbCl2-TeO2 (MeO = Bi2O3, MoO3, Sb2O3, WO3, ZnO) glasses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sayyed, M. I.; Çelikbilek Ersundu, M.; Ersundu, A. E.; Lakshminarayana, G.; Kostka, P.

2018-03-01

In this work, glasses in the MeO-PbCl2-TeO2 (MeO = Bi2O3, MoO3, Sb2O3, WO3, ZnO) system, which show a great potential for optoelectronic applications, were used to evaluate their resistance under high energy ionizing radiations. The basic shielding quantities for determining the penetration of radiation in glass, such as mass attenuation coefficient (μ/ρ), half value layer (HVL), mean free path (MFP) and exposure buildup factor (EBF) values were investigated within the energy range 0.015 MeV ‒ 15 MeV using XCOM program and variation of shielding parameters were compared with different glass systems and ordinary concrete. From the derived results, it was determined that MeO-PbCl2-TeO2 (MeO = Bi2O3, MoO3, Sb2O3, WO3, ZnO) glasses show great potentiality to be used under high energy radiations. Among the studied glass compositions, Bi2O3 and WO3 containing glasses were found to possess superior gamma-ray shielding effectiveness.

Understanding the evolution of anomalous anharmonicity in Bi 2 Te 3 - x Se x

DOE PAGES

Tian, Yao; Jia, Shuang; Cava, R. J.; ...

2017-03-08

The anharmonic effect in thermoelectrics has been a central topic for decades in both condensed matter physics and material science. However, despite the long-believed strong and complex anharmonicity in the Bi 2Te 3-xSe x series, experimental verification of anharmonicity and its evolution with doping remains elusive. We fill this important gap with high-resolution, temperature-dependent Raman spectroscopy in high-quality single crystals of Bi 2Te, Bi 2Te 2Se , and Bi 2Se 3 over the temperature range from 4 to 293 K. Klemens's model was employed to explain the renormalization of their phonon linewidths. The phonon energies of Bi 2Se 3 andmore » Bi 2Te 3 are analyzed in detail from three aspects: lattice expansion, cubic anharmonicity, and quartic anharmonicity. For the first time, we explain the evolution of anharmonicity in various phonon modes and across the series. Lastly, in particular, we find that the interplay between cubic and quartic anharmonicity is governed by their distinct dependence on the phonon density of states, providing insights into anomalous anharmonicity designing of new thermoelectrics.« less

Current-induced depairing in the Bi2Te3/FeTe interfacial superconductor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kunchur, M. N.; Dean, C. L.; Moghadam, N. Shayesteh; Knight, J. M.; He, Q. L.; Liu, H.; Wang, J.; Lortz, R.; Sou, I. K.; Gurevich, A.

2015-09-01

We investigated current induced depairing in the Bi2Te3 /FeTe topological insulator-chalcogenide interface superconductor. The measured depairing current density provides information on the magnetic penetration depth and superfluid density, which in turn shed light on the nature of the normal state that underlies the interfacial superconductivity.

Study of Diffusion Barrier for Solder/ n-Type Bi2Te3 and Bonding Strength for p- and n-Type Thermoelectric Modules

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, Wen-Chih; Li, Ying-Sih; Wu, Albert T.

2018-01-01

This paper investigates the interfacial reaction between Sn and Sn3Ag0.5Cu (SAC305) solder on n-type Bi2Te3 thermoelectric material. An electroless Ni-P layer successfully suppressed the formation of porous SnTe intermetallic compound at the interface. The formation of the layers between Bi2Te3 and Ni-P indicates that Te is the dominant diffusing species. Shear tests were conducted on both Sn and SAC305 solder on n- and p-type Bi2Te3 with and without a Ni-P barrier layer. Without a Ni-P layer, porous SnTe would result in a more brittle fracture. A comparison of joint strength for n- and p-type thermoelectric modules is evaluated by the shear test. Adding a diffusion barrier increases the mechanical strength by 19.4% in n-type and 74.0% in p-type thermoelectric modules.

Influence of Nanoinclusions on Thermoelectric Properties of n-Type Bi2Te3 Nanocomposites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fan, Shufen; Zhao, Junnan; Yan, Qingyu; Ma, Jan; Hng, Huey Hoon

2011-05-01

n-Type Bi2Te3 nanocomposites with enhanced figure of merit, ZT, were fabricated by a simple, high-throughput method of mixing nanostructured Bi2Te3 particles obtained through melt spinning with micron-sized particles. Moderately high power factors were retained, while the thermal conductivity of the nanocomposites was found to decrease with increasing weight percent of nanoinclusions. The peak ZT values for all the nanocomposites were above 1.1, and the maximum shifted to higher temperature with increasing amount of nanoinclusions. A maximum ZT of 1.18 at 42°C was obtained for the 10 wt.% nanocomposite, which is a 43% increase over the bulk sample at the same temperature. This is the highest ZT reported for n-type Bi2Te3 binary material, and higher ZT values are expected if state-of-the-art Bi2Te3- x Se x materials are used.

Electronic structure of Fe1.08Te bulk crystals and epitaxial FeTe thin films on Bi2Te3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arnold, Fabian; Warmuth, Jonas; Michiardi, Matteo; Fikáček, Jan; Bianchi, Marco; Hu, Jin; Mao, Zhiqiang; Miwa, Jill; Singh, Udai Raj; Bremholm, Martin; Wiesendanger, Roland; Honolka, Jan; Wehling, Tim; Wiebe, Jens; Hofmann, Philip

2018-02-01

The electronic structure of thin films of FeTe grown on Bi2Te3 is investigated using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, scanning tunneling microscopy and first principles calculations. As a comparison, data from cleaved bulk Fe1.08Te taken under the same experimental conditions is also presented. Due to the substrate and thin film symmetry, FeTe thin films grow on Bi2Te3 in three domains, rotated by 0°, 120°, and 240°. This results in a superposition of photoemission intensity from the domains, complicating the analysis. However, by combining bulk and thin film data, it is possible to partly disentangle the contributions from three domains. We find a close similarity between thin film and bulk electronic structure and an overall good agreement with first principles calculations, assuming a p-doping shift of 65 meV for the bulk and a renormalization factor of around two. By tracking the change of substrate electronic structure upon film growth, we find indications of an electron transfer from the FeTe film to the substrate. No significant change of the film’s electronic structure or doping is observed when alkali atoms are dosed onto the surface. This is ascribed to the film’s high density of states at the Fermi energy. This behavior is also supported by the ab initio calculations.

A Model for Predicting Thermoelectric Properties of Bi2Te3

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lee, Seungwon; VonAllmen, Paul

2009-01-01

A parameterized orthogonal tight-binding mathematical model of the quantum electronic structure of the bismuth telluride molecule has been devised for use in conjunction with a semiclassical transport model in predicting the thermoelectric properties of doped bismuth telluride. This model is expected to be useful in designing and analyzing Bi2Te3 thermoelectric devices, including ones that contain such nano - structures as quantum wells and wires. In addition, the understanding gained in the use of this model can be expected to lead to the development of better models that could be useful for developing other thermoelectric materials and devices having enhanced thermoelectric properties. Bi2Te3 is one of the best bulk thermoelectric materials and is widely used in commercial thermoelectric devices. Most prior theoretical studies of the thermoelectric properties of Bi2Te3 have involved either continuum models or ab-initio models. Continuum models are computationally very efficient, but do not account for atomic-level effects. Ab-initio models are atomistic by definition, but do not scale well in that computation times increase excessively with increasing numbers of atoms. The present tight-binding model bridges the gap between the well-scalable but non-atomistic continuum models and the atomistic but poorly scalable ab-initio models: The present tight-binding model is atomistic, yet also computationally efficient because of the reduced (relative to an ab-initio model) number of basis orbitals and flexible parameterization of the Hamiltonian.

Electronic tuning of the transport properties of off-stoichiometric Pb{sub x}Sn{sub 1−x}Te thermoelectric alloys by Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} doping

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Guttmann, Gilad M.; Dadon, David; Gelbstein, Yaniv

2015-08-14

The recent energy demands affected by the dilution of conventional energy resources and the growing awareness of environmental considerations had motivated many researchers to seek for novel renewable energy conversion methods. Thermoelectric direct conversion of thermal into electrical energies is such a method, in which common compositions include IV-VI semiconducting compounds (e.g., PbTe and SnTe) and their alloys. For approaching practical thermoelectric devices, the current research is focused on electronic optimization of off-stoichiometric p-type Pb{sub x}Sn{sub 1−x}Te alloys by tuning of Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} doping and/or SnTe alloying levels, while avoiding the less mechanically favorable Na dopant. It was shownmore » that upon such doping/alloying, higher ZTs, compared to those of previously reported undoped Pb{sub 0.5}Sn{sub 0.5}Te alloy, were obtained at temperatures lower than 210–340 °C, depending of the exact doping/alloying level. It was demonstrated that upon optimal grading of the carrier concentration, a maximal thermoelectric efficiency enhancement of ∼38%, compared to that of an undoped material, is expected.« less

Tunable Intrinsic Spin Hall Conductivities in Bi2(Se,Te)3 Topological Insulators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Şahin, Cüneyt; Flatté, Michael E.

2015-03-01

It has been recently shown by spin-transfer torque measurements that Bi2Se3 exhibits a very large spin Hall conductivity (SHC). It is expected that Bi2Te3, a topological insulator with similar crystal and band structures as well as large spin-orbit coupling, would also exhibit a giant SHC. In this study we have calculated intrinsic spin Hall conductivities of Bi2Se3andBi2Te3 topological insulators from a tight-binding Hamiltonian including two nearest-neighbor interactions. We have calculated the Berry curvature, used the Kubo formula in the static, clean limit and shown that both materials exhibit giant spin Hall conductivities, consistent with the results of Ref. 1 and larger than previously reported Bi1-xSbx alloys. The density of Berry curvature has also been computed from the full Brillouin zone in order to compute the dependence of the SHC in these materials on the Fermi energy. Finally we report the intrinsic SHC for Bi2(Se,Te)3 topological insulators, which changes dramatically with doping or gate voltage. This work was supported in part by C-SPIN, one of six centers of STARnet, a Semiconductor Research Corporation program, sponsored by MARCO and DARPA.

Scanning probe microscopy induced surface modifications of the topological insulator Bi2Te3 in different environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Netsou, Asteriona-Maria; Thupakula, Umamahesh; Debehets, Jolien; Chen, Taishi; Hirsch, Brandon; Volodin, Alexander; Li, Zhe; Song, Fengqi; Seo, Jin Won; De Feyter, Steven; Schouteden, Koen; Van Haesendonck, Chris

2017-08-01

We investigated the topological insulator (TI) Bi2Te3 in four different environments (ambient, ultra-high vacuum (UHV), nitrogen gas and organic solvent environment) using scanning probe microscopy (SPM) techniques. Upon prolonged exposure to ambient conditions and organic solvent environments the cleaved surface of the pristine Bi2Te3 is observed to be strongly modified during SPM measurements, while imaging of freshly cleaved Bi2Te3 in UHV and nitrogen gas shows considerably less changes of the Bi2Te3 surface. We conclude that the reduced surface stability upon exposure to ambient conditions is triggered by adsorption of molecular species from ambient, including H2O, CO2, etc which is verified by Auger electron spectroscopy. Our findings of the drastic impact of exposure to ambient on the Bi2Te3 surface are crucial for further in-depth studies of the intrinsic properties of the TI Bi2Te3 and for potential applications that include room temperature TI based devices operated under ambient conditions.

Role of defects in the carrier-tunable topological-insulator (Bi1 -xSbx )2Te3 thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Scipioni, Kane L.; Wang, Zhenyu; Maximenko, Yulia; Katmis, Ferhat; Steiner, Charlie; Madhavan, Vidya

2018-03-01

Alloys of Bi2Te3 and Sb2Te3[(Bi1-xSbx) 2Te3] have played an essential role in the exploration of topological surface states, allowing us to study phenomena that would otherwise be obscured by bulk contributions to conductivity. Despite intensive transport and angle resolved photoemission (ARPES) studies, important questions about this system remain unanswered. For example, previous studies reported the chemical tuning of the Fermi level to the Dirac point by controlling the Sb:Bi composition ratio, but the optimum ratio varies widely across various studies. Moreover, it is unclear how the quasiparticle lifetime is affected by the disorder resulting from Sb/Bi alloying. In this work, we use scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy to study the electronic structure of epitaxially grown (Bi,Sb) 2Te3 thin films at the nanoscale. We study Landau levels (LLs) to determine the effect of disorder on the quasiparticle lifetime as well as the position of the Dirac point with respect to the Fermi energy. A plot of the LL peak widths shows that despite the intrinsic disorder, the quasiparticle lifetime is not significantly degraded. We further determine that the ideal Sb concentration to place the Fermi energy to within a few meV of the Dirac point is x ˜0.7 , but that postannealing temperatures can have a significant effect on the crystallinity and Fermi level position. Specifically, high postgrowth annealing temperature can result in better crystallinity and surface roughness, but also produces a larger Te defect density which adds n -type carriers. Finally, in combination with quasiparticle interference imaging, the dispersion is revealed over a large energy range above the Fermi energy, in a regime inaccessible to ARPES. Interestingly, the surface state dispersion for the x ˜0.7 sample shows great similarity to pristine Bi2Te3 . This work provides microscopic information on the role of disorder and composition in determining carrier concentration, surface state

Thermoelectric properties of Co4Sb12 with Bi2Te3 nanoinclusions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ghosh, Sanyukta; Bisht, Anuj; Karati, Anirudha; Rogl, Gerda; Rogl, Peter; Murty, B. S.; Suwas, Satyam; Mallik, Ramesh Chandra

2018-03-01

The figure of merit (zT) of a thermoelectric material can be enhanced by incorporation of nanoinclusions into bulk material. The presence of bismuth telluride (Bi2Te3) nanoinclusions in Co4Sb12 leads to lower phonon thermal conductivity by introducing interfaces and defects; it enhances the average zT between 300-700 K. In the current study, Bi2Te3 nanoparticles were dispersed into bulk Co4Sb12 by ball-milling. The bulk was fabricated by spark plasma sintering. The presence of Bi2Te3 dispersion in Co4Sb12 was confirmed by x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and electron back scattered diffraction technique. Energy dispersive spectroscopy showed antimony (Sb) as an impurity phase for higher contents of Bi2Te3 in the sample. The Seebeck coefficient (S) and electrical conductivity (σ) were measured in the temperature range of 350-673 K. The negative value of S indicates that most of the charge carriers were electrons. A decrease in S and increase in σ with Bi2Te3 content are due to the increased carrier concentration, as confirmed by Hall measurement. The thermal conductivity, measured between 423-673 K, decreased due to the increased phonon scattering at interfaces. A maximum zT of 0.17 was achieved at 523 K and it did not vary much throughout the temperature range. The experimental results of composites were compared by using effective medium theories.

Thermoelectric properties of Co4Sb12 with Bi2Te3 nanoinclusions.

PubMed

Ghosh, Sanyukta; Bisht, Anuj; Karati, Anirudha; Rogl, Gerda; Rogl, Peter; Murty, B S; Suwas, Satyam; Mallik, Ramesh Chandra

2018-02-12

The figure of merit (zT) of a thermoelectric material can be enhanced by incorporation of nanoinclusions into bulk material. The presence of bismuth telluride (Bi 2 Te 3 ) nanoinclusions in Co 4 Sb 12 leads to lower phonon thermal conductivity by introducing interfaces and defects; it enhances the average zT between 300-700 K. In the current study, Bi 2 Te 3 nanoparticles were dispersed into bulk Co 4 Sb 12 by ball-milling. The bulk was fabricated by spark plasma sintering. The presence of Bi 2 Te 3 dispersion in Co 4 Sb 12 was confirmed by x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and electron back scattered diffraction technique. Energy dispersive spectroscopy showed antimony (Sb) as an impurity phase for higher contents of Bi 2 Te 3 in the sample. The Seebeck coefficient (S) and electrical conductivity (σ) were measured in the temperature range of 350-673 K. The negative value of S indicates that most of the charge carriers were electrons. A decrease in S and increase in σ with Bi 2 Te 3 content are due to the increased carrier concentration, as confirmed by Hall measurement. The thermal conductivity, measured between 423-673 K, decreased due to the increased phonon scattering at interfaces. A maximum zT of 0.17 was achieved at 523 K and it did not vary much throughout the temperature range. The experimental results of composites were compared by using effective medium theories.

Thermoelectric transport properties of BaBiTe{sub 3}-based materials

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhou, Yiming; Zhao, Li-Dong, E-mail: zhaolidong@buaa.edu.cn

BaBiTe{sub 3}, a material with low thermal conductivity, is an inferior thermoelectric material due to the poor electrical properties originated from its narrow band gap. We choose two types of dopants, K and La, trying to optimize its electrical transport properties. The minority carriers, which harm the Seebeck coefficient in this system, are suppressed by La doping. With the increase of both electrical conductivity and Seebeck coefficient, the power factor of 3% La doped BaBiTe{sub 3} reaches 3.7 μW cm{sup −1} K{sup −2} which increased by 40% from undoped BaBiTe{sub 3}. Besides high power factor, the thermal conductivity is alsomore » reduced in it. Eventually, a high ZT value, 0.25 at 473 K, for n-type BaBiTe{sub 3} is achieved in 3% La doped BaBiTe{sub 3}. - Graphical abstract: BaBiTe{sub 3} possesses a low thermal conductivity. However, it is an inferior thermoelectric material due to the poor electrical properties originated from its narrow band gap. A high ZT value of 0.25 at 473 K for n-type BaBiTe{sub 3} can be achieved through optimizing electrical transport properties via La doping. - Highlights: • BaBiTe{sub 3} is an analogue of these promising thermoelectric materials: such as CsBi{sub 4}Te{sub 6} and K{sub 2}Bi{sub 8}Se{sub 13}, etc. • BaBiTe{sub 3} possesses a low thermal conductivity. • La is an effective dopant to enhance electrical transport properties. • A high ZT value of 0.25 at 473 K can be achieved in n-type La-doped BaBiTe{sub 3}.« less

Observation of hidden atomic order at the interface between Fe and topological insulator Bi2Te3.

PubMed

Sánchez-Barriga, Jaime; Ogorodnikov, Ilya I; Kuznetsov, Mikhail V; Volykhov, Andrey A; Matsui, Fumihiko; Callaert, Carolien; Hadermann, Joke; Verbitskiy, Nikolay I; Koch, Roland J; Varykhalov, Andrei; Rader, Oliver; Yashina, Lada V

2017-11-22

To realize spintronic devices based on topological insulators (TIs), well-defined interfaces between magnetic metals and TIs are required. Here, we characterize atomically precisely the interface between the 3d transition metal Fe and the TI Bi 2 Te 3 at different stages of its formation. Using photoelectron diffraction and holography, we show that after deposition of up to 3 monolayers Fe on Bi 2 Te 3 at room temperature, the Fe atoms are ordered at the interface despite the surface disorder revealed by our scanning-tunneling microscopy images. We find that Fe occupies two different sites: a hollow adatom deeply relaxed into the Bi 2 Te 3 quintuple layers and an interstitial atom between the third (Te) and fourth (Bi) atomic layers. For both sites, our core-level photoemission spectra and density-functional theory calculations demonstrate simultaneous chemical bonding of Fe to both Te and Bi atoms. We further show that upon deposition of Fe up to a thickness of 20 nm, the Fe atoms penetrate deeper into the bulk forming a 2-5 nm interface layer containing FeTe. In addition, excessive Bi is pushed down into the bulk of Bi 2 Te 3 leading to the formation of septuple layers of Bi 3 Te 4 within a distance of ∼25 nm from the interface. Controlling the magnetic properties of the complex interface structures revealed by our work will be of critical importance when optimizing the efficiency of spin injection in TI-based devices.

New Insights into Intrinsic Point Defects in V2VI3 Thermoelectric Materials.

PubMed

Zhu, Tiejun; Hu, Lipeng; Zhao, Xinbing; He, Jian

2016-07-01

Defects and defect engineering are at the core of many regimes of material research, including the field of thermoelectric study. The 60-year history of V 2 VI 3 thermoelectric materials is a prime example of how a class of semiconductor material, considered mature several times, can be rejuvenated by better understanding and manipulation of defects. This review aims to provide a systematic account of the underexplored intrinsic point defects in V 2 VI 3 compounds, with regard to (i) their formation and control, and (ii) their interplay with other types of defects towards higher thermoelectric performance. We herein present a convincing case that intrinsic point defects can be actively controlled by extrinsic doping and also via compositional, mechanical, and thermal control at various stages of material synthesis. An up-to-date understanding of intrinsic point defects in V 2 VI 3 compounds is summarized in a (χ, r)-model and applied to elucidating the donor-like effect. These new insights not only enable more innovative defect engineering in other thermoelectric materials but also, in a broad context, contribute to rational defect design in advanced functional materials at large.

Optical and thermoelectric properties of nano-particles based Bi2(Te1-xSex)3 thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adam, A. M.; Lilov, E.; Petkov, P.

2017-01-01

Nano-particles of Bi2Te3 and Bi2(Te1-xSex)3 films were deposited using vacuum thermal evaporation technique from previously prepared bulk alloys synthesized by melting method. Optical and thermoelectric properties were studied in the temperature range of 300-473K. The formation of none- and Se-doped Bi2Te3 nano-particles was verified by EDX and XRD analysis. TEM, SEM and AFM analysis showed the prepared films are polycrystalline in nature. The measurements of electrical conductivity and Seebeck coefficient, alongside with thermal conductivity calculations, resulted in the highest values of thermoelectric power at high temperature to be reported. The maximum value of power factor was calculated at 62.82917 μWK-2cm-1 for (Bi2Se0.3Te1.7) sample at 463 K. On the addition of Se to Bi2Te3 film, a significant decrease of the electronic thermal conductivity (Kel) from 2.181 × 10-2 to 0.598 × 10-2 (μW/cm.K) could be achieved. Figure of merit (ZT) calculations showed a maximum value of 0.85 at room temperature, for Bi2Te3. Besides the increase of ZT value for all samples at higher temperature, surprisingly, a value of 2.75 for (Bi2Se1.2Te1.8) was obtained. We believe our results could open avenues for new applications.

Structural and thermoelectric properties of epitaxially grown Bi2Te3 thin films and superlattices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peranio, N.; Eibl, O.; Nurnus, J.

2006-12-01

Multi-quantum-well structures of Bi2Te3 are predicted to have a high thermoelectric figure of merit ZT. Bi2Te3 thin films and Bi2Te3/Bi2(Te0.88Se0.12)3 superlattices (SLs) were grown epitaxially by molecular beam epitaxy on BaF2 substrates with periods of 12 and 6nm, respectively. Reflection high-energy electron diffraction confirmed a layer-by-layer growth, x-ray diffraction yielded the lattice parameters and SL periods and proved epitaxial growth. The in-plane transport coefficients were measured and the thin films and SL had power factors between 28 and 35μW /cmK2. The lattice thermal conductivity varied between 1.60W/mK for Bi2Te3 thin films and 1.01W/mK for a 10nm SL. The best figures of merit ZT were achieved for the SL; however, the values are slightly smaller than those in bulk materials. Thin films and superlattices were investigated in plan view and cross section by transmission electron microscopy. In the Bi2Te3 thin film and SL the dislocation density was found to be 2×1010cm-2. Bending of the SL with amplitudes of 30nm (12nm SL) and 15nm (6nm SL) and a wavelength of 400nm was determined. Threading dislocations were found with a density greater than 2×109cm-2. The superlattice interfaces are strongly bent in the region of the threading dislocations, undisturbed regions have a maximum lateral sie of 500nm. Thin films and SL showed a structural modulation [natural nanostructure (nns)] with a wavelength of 10nm and a wave vector parallel to (1,0,10). This nns was also observed in Bi2Te3 bulk materials and turned out to be of general character for Bi2Te3. The effect of the microstructure on the thermoelectric properties is discussed. The microstructure is governed by the superlattice, the nns, and the dislocations that are present in the films. Our results indicate that the microstructure directly affects the lattice thermal conductivity. Thermopower and electrical conductivity were found to be negatively correlated and no clear dependence of the two

Liquidus Projections of Bi-Se-Ga and Bi-Se-Te Ternary Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, Po-han; Chen, Sinn-wen; Hwang, Jenn-dong; Chu, Hsu-shen

2016-12-01

This study determines the liquidus projections of both Bi-Se-Ga and Bi-Se-Te ternary systems which are constituent ternary systems of promising Bi-Se-Te-Ga thermoelectric materials. Ternary Bi-Se-Ga and Bi-Se-Te alloys are prepared. Their primary solidification phases are experimentally determined, and thermal analysis experiments are carried out. The liquidus projections are determined based on the ternary experimental results and phase diagrams of constituent binary systems. The Bi-Se-Ga system includes seven primary solidification phases, Bi, Ga, GaSe, Ga2Se3, Se, Bi2Se3, and (Bi2)n(Bi2Se3)m. In the Bi-Se-Te system, there are five primary solidification phases, Bi, (Bi2)n(Bi2Te3)m, Bi2(Se,Te)3, (Se,Te), and (Bi2)n(Bi2Se3)m. Both the (Bi2)n(Bi2Te3)m and (Bi2)n(Bi2Se3)m phases are not a single phase, but a collection of series undetermined phases. Large miscibility gaps are observed in the Bi-Se-Ga system. The temperatures of the invariant reactions, Liquid + Bi + GaSe = Ga and Liquid + Ga2Se3 = Bi + GaSe, are at 495 K (222 °C) and 533 K (260 °C), respectively.

Thermoelectric Properties of Bi2Te3: CuI and the Effect of Its Doping with Pb Atoms

PubMed Central

Han, Mi-Kyung; Lee, Da-Hee; Kim, Sung-Jin

2017-01-01

In order to understand the effect of Pb-CuI co-doping on the thermoelectric performance of Bi2Te3, n-type Bi2Te3 co-doped with x at % CuI and 1/2x at % Pb (x = 0, 0.01, 0.03, 0.05, 0.07, and 0.10) were prepared via high temperature solid state reaction and consolidated using spark plasma sintering. Electron and thermal transport properties, i.e., electrical conductivity, carrier concentration, Hall mobility, Seebeck coefficient, and thermal conductivity, of CuI-Pb co-doped Bi2Te3 were measured in the temperature range from 300 K to 523 K, and compared to corresponding x% of CuI-doped Bi2Te3 and undoped Bi2Te3. The addition of a small amount of Pb significantly decreased the carrier concentration, which could be attributed to the holes from Pb atoms, thus the CuI-Pb co-doped samples show a lower electrical conductivity and a higher Seebeck coefficient when compared to CuI-doped samples with similar x values. The incorporation of Pb into CuI-doped Bi2Te3 rarely changed the power factor because of the trade-off relationship between the electrical conductivity and the Seebeck coefficient. The total thermal conductivity(κtot) of co-doped samples (κtot ~ 1.4 W/m∙K at 300 K) is slightly lower than that of 1% CuI-doped Bi2Te3 (κtot ~ 1.5 W/m∙K at 300 K) and undoped Bi2Te3 (κtot ~ 1.6 W/m∙K at 300 K) due to the alloy scattering. The 1% CuI-Pb co-doped Bi2Te3 sample shows the highest ZT value of 0.96 at 370 K. All data on electrical and thermal transport properties suggest that the thermoelectric properties of Bi2Te3 and its operating temperature can be controlled by co-doping. PMID:29072613

Raman characterization of a new Te-rich binary compound: CdTe2.

PubMed

Rousset, Jean; Rzepka, Edouard; Lincot, Daniel

2009-04-02

Structural characterization by Raman spectroscopy of CdTe thin films electrodeposited in acidic conditions is considered in this work. This study focuses on the evolution of material properties as a function of the applied potential and the film thickness, demonstrating the possibility to obtain a new Te-rich compound with a II/VI ratio of 1/2 under specific bath conditions. Raman measurements carried out on etched samples first allow the elimination of the assumption of a mixture of phases CdTe + Te and tend to confirm the formation of the CdTe(2) binary compound. The signature of this phase on the Raman spectrum is the increase of the LO band intensity compared to that obtained for the CdTe. The influence of the laser power is also considered. While no effect is observed on CdTe films, the increase of the incident irradiation power leads to the decomposition of the CdTe(2) compound into two more stable phases namely CdTe and Te.

From thermoelectric bulk to nanomaterials: Current progress for Bi 2 Te 3 and CoSb 3: From thermoelectric bulk to nanomaterials

DOE PAGES

Peranio, N.; Eibl, O.; Bäßler, S.; ...

2015-10-29

We synthesized Bi 2Te 3 and CoSb 3 based nanomaterials and their thermoelectric, structural, and vibrational properties analyzed to assess and reduce ZT-limiting mechanisms. The same preparation and/or characterization methods were applied in the different materials systems. Single-crystalline, ternary p-type Bi 15Sb 29Te 56, and n-type Bi 38Te 55Se 7 nanowires with power factors comparable to nanostructured bulkmaterialswere prepared by potential-pulsed electrochemical deposition in a nanostructured Al 2O 3 matrix. p-type Sb 2Te 3, n-type Bi 2Te 3, and n-type CoSb 3 thin films were grown at room temperature using molecular beam epitaxy and were subsequently annealed at elevated temperatures.more » It yielded polycrystalline, single phase thin films with optimized charge carrier densities. In CoSb 3 thin films the speed of sound could be reduced by filling the cage structure with Yb and alloying with Fe yielded p-type material. Bi 2(Te 0.91Se 0.09) 3/SiC and (Bi 0.26Sb 0.74) 2Te 3/SiC nanocomposites with low thermal conductivities and ZT values larger than 1 were prepared by spark plasma sintering. Nanostructure, texture, chemical composition, as well as electronic and phononic excitations were investigated by X-ray diffraction, nuclear resonance scattering, inelastic neutron scattering, M ossbauer spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. Furthermore, for Bi 2Te 3 materials, ab-initio calculations together with equilibrium and non-equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations for point defects yielded their formation energies and their effect on lattice thermal conductivity, respectively. Current advances in thermoelectric Bi 2Te 3 and CoSb 3 based nanomaterials are summarized. Advanced synthesis and characterization methods and theoreticalmodelingwere combined to assess and reduce ZT-limiting mechanisms in these materials.« less

Influence of Thickness on the Electrical Transport Properties of Exfoliated Bi2Te3 Ultrathin Films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mo, D. L.; Wang, W. B.; Cai, Q.

2016-08-01

In this work, the mechanical exfoliation method has been utilized to fabricate Bi2Te3 ultrathin films. The thickness of the ultrathin films is revealed to be several tens of nanometers. Weak antilocalization effects and Shubnikov de Haas oscillations have been observed in the magneto-transport measurements on individual films with different thickness, and the two-dimensional surface conduction plays a dominant role. The Fermi level is found to be 81 meV above the Dirac point, and the carrier mobility can reach ~6030 cm2/(Vs) for the 10-nm film. When the film thickness decreases from 30 to 10 nm, the Fermi level will move 8 meV far from the bulk valence band. The coefficient α in the Hikami-Larkin-Nagaoka equation is shown to be ~0.5, manifesting that only the bottom surface of the Bi2Te3 ultrathin films takes part in transport conductions. These will pave the way for understanding thoroughly the surface transport properties of topological insulators.

Thermoelectric Performance of n-Type Bi2Te3/Cu Composites Fabricated by Nanoparticle Decoration and Spark Plasma Sintering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sie, F. R.; Kuo, C. H.; Hwang, C. S.; Chou, Y. W.; Yeh, C. H.; Lin, Y. L.; Huang, J. Y.

2016-03-01

Dense n-type Bi2Te3/Cu composites were prepared using Cu-based acetate decomposition and spark plasma sintering at 673 K and 50 MPa. The effects of Cu addition into ball-milled Bi2Te3 on the thermoelectric properties of composites were investigated. The scanning electron microscopy results reveal that Cu nanoparticles with a size of 50-100 nm were dispersed in the Bi2Te3 matrix and also pinned at Bi2Te3 grain boundaries. The thermoelectric performance of all specimens was measured in the temperature range of 300-500 K. The electrical conduction transformed from metallic to semiconducting with an increase in Cu content due to a decrease in carrier concentration. Hence, the variation in the carrier concentration is determined by the role of Cu dopant in Bi2Te3. Furthermore, the thermal conductivity decreased due to lower electronic thermal conductivity and electrical conductivity. In comparison with Bi2Te3, the room-temperature ZT value for the Bi2Te3/Cu (1.0 wt.%) sample increased from 0.31 to 0.60 due primarily to the significant increase in the power factor and reduction in thermal conductivity.

Phase equilibria in the Bi 2TeO 5Bi 2SeO 5 system and a high temperature neutron powder diffraction study of Bi 2SeO 5

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dityatyev, Oleg A.; Smidt, Peer; Stefanovich, Sergey Yu; Lightfoot, Philip; Dolgikh, Valery A.; Opperman, Heinrich

2004-09-01

Phase equilibria in the Bi 2TeO 5Bi 2SeO 5 system were studied by X-ray, DTA and second harmonic generation (SHG). The samples were synthesized by solid state reactions of the Bi, Te and Se oxides. The phase diagram is interpreted as a quasibinary peritectic one with wide ranges of solid solutions on the basis of both compounds. The SHG study showed Bi 2SeO 5 to undergo a phase transition at about 250 °C. Neutron diffraction (25-650 °C) showed no major changes in the structure of Bi 2SeO 5 at high temperatures. However, the analysis of the oxygen atom thermal factors and site occupancies suggested that the mechanism of the phase transformation is an order-disorder transition involving reorientation of the SeO 3 group.

Quantum Hall effect in dual gated BiSbTeSe2 topological insulator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chong, Su Kong; Han, Kyu Bum; Nagaoka, Akira; Harmer, Jared; Tsuchikawa, Ryuichi; Sparks, Taylor D.; Deshpande, Vikram V.

The discovery of topological insulators (TIs) has expanded the family of Dirac materials and enables the probing of exotic matter such as Majorana fermions and magnetic monopoles. Different from conventional 2D electron gas, 3D TIs exhibit a gapped insulating bulk and gapless topological surface states as a result of the strong spin-orbit coupling. BiSbTeSe2 is also known to be a 3D TI with a large intrinsic bulk gap of about 0.3 eV and a single Dirac cone surface state. The highly bulk insulating BiSbTeSe2 permits surface dominated conduction, which is an ideal system for the study of quantum Hall effect (QHE). Due to the spin-momentum locking, the Dirac fermions at the topological surface states have a degeneracy of one. In the QH regime, the Hall conductance is quantized to (n + 1 / 2) e2 / h , where n is an integer and the factor of half is related to Berry curvature. In this work, we study the QHE 3D TI using a dual gated BiSbTeSe2 device. By tuning the chemical potentials on top and bottom surfaces, integer QHE with Landau filling factors, ν = 0, +/-1, and +/-2 are observed.

A Micro-Raman Study of Exfoliated Few-Layered n-Type Bi2Te2.7Se0.3 (Postprint)

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-11-28

filtering process. 15. SUBJECT TERMS thermoelectric (TE); bulk n-type Bi2Te2.7Se0.3; chemical or mechanical exfoliation; densification; restacking...enhanced TE properties via the energy filtering process. Bulk pristine (undoped) and doped Bi2Te3 are some of the most efficient room temperature...and charged defect scattering dominates. Puneet et al. attributed the increase in n to selective filtering of charge carriers by positively charged

Ion beam irradiation effect on thermoelectric properties of Bi2Te3 and Sb2Te3 thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fu, Gaosheng; Zuo, Lei; Lian, Jie; Wang, Yongqiang; Chen, Jie; Longtin, Jon; Xiao, Zhigang

2015-09-01

Thermoelectric energy harvesting is a very promising application in nuclear power plants for self-maintained wireless sensors. However, the effects of intensive radiation on the performance of thermoelectric materials under relevant reactor environments such as energetic neutrons are not fully understood. In this work, radiation effects of bismuth telluride (Bi2Te3) and antimony telluride (Sb2Te3) thermoelectric thin film samples prepared by E-beam evaporation are investigated using Ne2+ ion irradiations at different fluences of 5 × 1014, 1015, 5 × 1015 and 1016 ions/cm2 with the focus on the transport and structural properties. Electrical conductivities, Seebeck coefficients and power factors are characterized as ion fluence changes. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) of the samples are obtained to assess how phase and microstructure influence the transport properties. Carrier concentration and Hall mobility are obtained from Hall effect measurements, which provide further insight into the electrical conductivity and Seebeck coefficient mechanisms. Positive effects of ion irradiations from Ne2+ on thermoelectric material property are observed to increase the power factor to 208% for Bi2Te3 and 337% for Sb2Te3 materials between fluence of 1 and 5 × 1015 cm2, due to the increasing of the electrical conductivity as a result of ionization radiation-enhanced crystallinity. However, under a higher fluence, 5 × 1015 cm2 in this case, the power factor starts to decrease accordingly, limiting the enhancements of thermoelectric materials properties under intensive radiation environment.

Yb-doped passively mode-locked fiber laser with Bi2Te3-deposited

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Lu; Yan, Pei-Guang; Wang, Yong-Gang; Duan, Li-Na; Sun, Hang; Si, Jin-Hai

2015-12-01

In this study we present an all-normal-dispersion Yb-doped fiber laser passively mode-locked with topological insulator (Bi2Te3) saturable absorber. The saturable absorber device is fabricated by depositing Bi2Te3 on a tapered fiber through using pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technology, which can give rise to less non-saturable losses than most of the solution processing methods. Owing to the long interaction length, Bi2Te3 is not exposed to high optical power, which allows the saturable absorber device to work in a high power regime. The modulation depth of this kind of saturable absorber is measured to be 10%. By combining the saturable absorber device with Yb-doped fiber laser, a mode-locked pulse operating at a repetition rate of 19.8 MHz is achieved. The 3-dB spectral width and pulse duration are measured to be 1.245 nm and 317 ps, respectively. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 61378024) and the Natural Science Fund of Guangdong Province, China (Grant No. S2013010012235).

Observation of antiphase coherent phonons in the warped Dirac cone of Bi2Te3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Golias, E.; Sánchez-Barriga, J.

2016-10-01

In this Rapid Communication we investigate the coupling between excited electrons and phonons in the highly anisotropic electronic structure of the prototypical topological insulator Bi2Te3 . Using time- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy we are able to identify the emergence and ultrafast temporal evolution of the longitudinal-optical A1 g coherent-phonon mode in Bi2Te3 . We observe an antiphase behavior in the onset of the coherent-phonon oscillations between the Γ K ¯ and the Γ M ¯ high-symmetry directions that is consistent with warping. The qualitative agreement between our density-functional theory calculations and the experimental results reveals the critical role of the anisotropic coupling between Dirac fermions and phonon modes in the topological insulator Bi2Te3 .

Large superconducting double-gap, a pronounced pseudogap and evidence for proximity-induced topological superconductivity in the Bi2Te3/Fe1+yTe interfacial superconductor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shen, J. Y.; He, M. Q.; He, Q. L.; Law, K. T.; Sou, I. K.; Lortz, R.; Petrovic, A. P.

We investigate directional point-contact spectroscopy on a Bi2Te3/ Fe1+yTe heterostructure, fabricated via van der Waals epitaxy, which is interfacial superconducting with an onset TC at 12K and zero resistance below 8K. A large superconducting twin-gap structure is seen down to 0.27K, together with a zero bias conductance peak. The anisotropic smaller gap (Δ1) is around 5 meV at 0.27K and closes at 8K, while the other one (Δ2), as large as 12 meV, is isotropic and eventually evolves into a pseudogap closing at 40K. Both, the two-gap BTK and Dynes models can well reproduce our data, demonstrating Δ1 should be associated with the proximity-induced superconductivity in the topological Bi2Te3 layer, while Δ2 may be attributed to an intrinsically-doped FeTe thin film at the interface. This work was supported by grants from the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China (603010, SEGHKUST03).

Vapor Phase Growth of High-Quality Bi-Te Compounds Using Elemental Bi and Te Sources: A Comparison Between High Vacuum and Atmospheric Pressure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Concepción, O.; Escobosa, A.; de Melo, O.

2018-03-01

Bismuth telluride (Bi2Te3), traditionally used in the industry as thermoelectric material, has deserved much attention recently due to its properties as a topological insulator, a kind of material that might have relevant applications in spintronics or quantum computing, among other innovative uses. The preparation of high-quality material has become a very important technological task. Here, we compare the preparation of Bi2Te3 by physical vapor transport from the evaporation of elemental Bi and Te sources, under either low pressure or atmospheric pressure. The layers were characterized by different techniques to evaluate its structural properties. As a result, it is concluded that, as a consequence of the different transport regimes, films grown at atmospheric pressure present better crystal quality.

Improved thermoelectric properties of Bi2Te3-xSex alloys by melt spinning and resistance pressing sintering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cai, Xinzhi; Fan, Xi'an; Rong, Zhenzhou; Yang, Fan; Gan, Zhanghua; Li, Guangqiang

2014-03-01

Starting from bismuth, tellurium and selenium chunks, n-type Bi2Te3-xSex (x ⩽ 0.3) alloys were obtained by melt spinning (MS) combined with a resistance pressing sintering (RPS) process. The phases, microstructures and compositions of the samples were evaluated by x-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy, and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy during each step in the preparation process, respectively. The influences of Se doping, MS and RPS processes on the thermoelectric (TE) properties of Bi2Te3-xSex alloys were investigated in detail. The Bi2Te3-xSex powders could be well compacted by the RPS process and the relative densities of the bulks prepared by RPS were all higher than 96%. The partially oriented lamellar structure could be observed at some regions of the samples prepared by RPS, and the monolayer thickness of the lamellar structure in the MS-RPS samples was smaller than that in the smelting-RPS sample. The MS process was confirmed as an excellent method to obtain fine microstructures and low lattice thermal conductivity for the TE materials. All evidence about electrical and thermal transport properties suggested that suitably increasing the Se content could effectively improve the ZT value. The maximum ZT value of 0.84 was obtained for the Bi2Te2.7Se0.3 prepared by MS-RPS at 423 K. As opposed to the conventional hot pressing and spark plasma sintering, the RPS method introduced here is more suitable for practical industrial application due to its cost saving and high efficiency.

Evidence of a 2D Fermi surface due to surface states in a p-type metallic Bi2Te3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shrestha, K.; Marinova, V.; Lorenz, B.; Chu, C. W.

2018-05-01

We present a systematic quantum oscillations study on a metallic, p-type Bi2Te3 topological single crystal in magnetic fields up to B  =  7 T. The maxima/minima positions of oscillations measured at different tilt angles align to one another when plotted as a function of the normal component of magnetic field, confirming the presence of the 2D Fermi surface. Additionally, the Berry phase, β  =  0.4  ±  0.05 obtained from the Landau level fan plot, is very close to the theoretical value of 0.5 for the Dirac particles, confirming the presence of topological surface states in the Bi2Te3 single crystal. Using the Lifshitz–Kosevich analyses, the Fermi energy is estimated to be meV, which is lower than that of other bismuth-based topological systems. The detection of surface states in the Bi2Te3 crystal can be explained by our previous hypothesis of the lower position of the Fermi surface that cuts the ‘M’-shaped valence band maxima. As a result, the bulk state frequency is shifted to higher magnetic fields, which allows measurement of the surface states signal at low magnetic fields.

Optoelectronic and Thermoelectric Properties of Bi2OX 2 (X = S, Se, Te) for Solar Cells and Thermoelectric Devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Azam, Sikander; Khan, Saleem Ayaz; Goumri-Said, Souraya

2018-02-01

We have explored the optoelectronic structure and related thermoelectric properties of Bi2OX 2 (X = S, Se, Te) using density functional theory and spin-orbit coupling (SOC). We report herein calculations of the bandgap of these bismuth sulfides/oxysulfides to participate in the recent debate regarding such values. The generalized gradient approximation calculations corrected using the SOC scheme estimated bandgaps of 0.950 eV, 0.635 eV, and 0.441 eV for Bi2OS2, Bi2OSe2, and Bi2OTe2, respectively, in close agreement with experimental results and showing better accuracy compared with available theoretical calculations. This bandgap range shows the potential use of Bi2OX 2 for solar cell applications. Hence, we derived their optical and thermoelectric properties. Similarly to one of the parent materials, Bi2S3, a semiconductor with special photovoltaic and thermoelectric properties, the present derivatives Bi2OX 2 show promising characteristics for exploration in the near future for use in solar cells and thermoelectric devices.

A numerical study of zone-melting process for the thermoelectric material of Bi2Te3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, W. C.; Wu, Y. C.; Hwang, W. S.; Hsieh, H. L.; Huang, J. Y.; Huang, T. K.

2015-06-01

In this study, a numerical model has been established by employing a commercial software; ProCAST, to simulate the variation/distribution of temperature and the subsequent microstructure of Bi2Te3 fabricated by zone-melting technique. Then an experiment is conducted to measure the temperature variation/distribution during the zone-melting process to validate the numerical system. Also, the effects of processing parameters on crystallization microstructure such as moving speed and temperature of heater are numerically evaluated. In the experiment, the Bi2Te3 powder are filled into a 30mm diameter quartz cylinder and the heater is set to 800°C with a moving speed 12.5 mm/hr. A thermocouple is inserted in the Bi2Te3 powder to measure the temperature variation/distribution of the zone-melting process. The temperature variation/distribution measured by experiment is compared to the results of numerical simulation. The results show that our model and the experiment are well matched. Then the model is used to evaluate the crystal formation for Bi2Te3 with a 30mm diameter process. It's found that when the moving speed is slower than 17.5 mm/hr, columnar crystal is obtained. In the end, we use this model to predict the crystal formation of zone-melting process for Bi2Te3 with a 45 mm diameter. The results show that it is difficult to grow columnar crystal when the diameter comes to 45mm.

Fabrication of large-scale single-crystal bismuth telluride (Bi2Te3) nanosheet arrays by a single-step electrolysis process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tsai, Hung-Wei; Wang, Tsang-Hsiu; Chan, Tsung-Cheng; Chen, Pei-Ju; Chung, Chih-Chun; Yaghoubi, Alireza; Liao, Chien-Neng; Diau, Eric Wei-Guang; Chueh, Yu-Lun

2014-06-01

Nanolizing of thermoelectric materials is one approach to reduce the thermal conductivity and hence enhance the figure of merit. Bismuth telluride (Bi2Te3)-based materials have excellent figure of merit at room temperature. For device applications, precise control and rapid fabrication for the nanostructure of thermoelectric materials are essential issues. In the present study, we demonstrate a one-step electrolysis process to directly form Bi2Te3 nanosheet arrays (NSAs) on the surface of bulk Bi2Te3 with controllable spacing distance and depth by tuning the applied bias and duration. The single sheet of NSAs reveals that the average thickness and electrical resistivity of single crystalline Bi2Te3 in composition are 399.8 nm and 137.34 μΩ m, respectively. The formation mechanism of NSAs has been proposed. A 1.12% efficiency of quantum dot-sensitized solar cells with Bi2Te3 NSAs for counter electrode has been demonstrated, indicating that Bi2Te3 NSAs from top-down processing with a high ratio of surface area to volume are a promising candidate for possible applications such as thermoelectrics, dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), and lithium-ion batteries.Nanolizing of thermoelectric materials is one approach to reduce the thermal conductivity and hence enhance the figure of merit. Bismuth telluride (Bi2Te3)-based materials have excellent figure of merit at room temperature. For device applications, precise control and rapid fabrication for the nanostructure of thermoelectric materials are essential issues. In the present study, we demonstrate a one-step electrolysis process to directly form Bi2Te3 nanosheet arrays (NSAs) on the surface of bulk Bi2Te3 with controllable spacing distance and depth by tuning the applied bias and duration. The single sheet of NSAs reveals that the average thickness and electrical resistivity of single crystalline Bi2Te3 in composition are 399.8 nm and 137.34 μΩ m, respectively. The formation mechanism of NSAs has been proposed. A 1

Codoping of Sb2Te3 thin films with V and Cr

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Duffy, L. B.; Figueroa, A. I.; van der Laan, G.; Hesjedal, T.

2017-11-01

Magnetically doped topological insulators (TIs) are key to realizing the quantum anomalous Hall (QAH) effect, with the prospect of enabling dissipationless electronic devices in the future. Doping of the well-established three-dimensional TIs of the (Bi,Sb) 2(Se,Te) 3 family with the transition metals Cr and V is now an established approach for observing the QAH state at very low temperatures. While the magnetic transition temperatures of these materials are on the order of tens of degrees Kelvin, full quantization of the QAH state is achieved below ˜100 mK, governed by the size of the magnetic gap and thus the out-of-plane magnetic moment. In an attempt to raise the size of the magnetic moment and transition temperature, we carried out a structural and magnetic investigation of codoped (V,Cr):Sb2Te3 thin films. Starting from singly doped Cr:Sb2Te3 films, free of secondary phases and with a transition temperature of ˜72 K, we introduced increasing fractions of V and found a doubling of the transition temperature, while the magnetic moment decreases. In order to separate the properties and contributions of the two transition metals in the complex doping scenario independently, we employed spectroscopic x-ray techniques. Surprisingly, already small amounts of V lead to the formation of the secondary phase Cr2Te3 . No V was detectable in the Sb2Te3 matrix. Instead, it acts as a surfactant and can be found in the near-surface layers at the end of the growth. Our paper highlights the importance of x-ray-based studies for the doping of van der Waals systems, for which the optimization of magnetic moment or transition temperature alone is not necessarily a good strategy.

Two-dimensional bismuth-rich nanosheets through the evaporative thinning of Se-doped Bi2Te3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hanson, Eve D.; Shi, Fengyuan; Chasapis, Thomas C.; Kanatzidis, Mercouri G.; Dravid, Vinayak P.

2016-02-01

High bulk conductance obscures the behavior of surface states in the prototypical topological insulators Bi2Te3 and Bi2Se3. However, ternary phases of Bi2Te3-ySey with balanced donor and acceptor levels may lead to large bulk resistivity, allowing for the observation of the surface states. Additionally, the contribution of the bulk conductance may be further suppressed by nanostructuring, increasing the surface-to-volume ratio. Herein we report the synthesis of a ternary tetradymite newly confined to two dimensions. Ultra-thin large-area stable nanosheets were fabricated via evaporative thinning of a Bi2Te2.9Se0.1 original phase. Owing to vapor pressure differences, a compositional shift to a final Bi-rich phase is observed. The Se/Te ratio of the nanosheet increases tenfold, due to the higher stability of the Bi-Se bonds. Hexagonal crystal symmetry is maintained despite dramatic changes in thickness and stoichiometry. Given that small variations in stoichiometry of this ternary system can incur large changes in carrier concentration and switch majority carrier type, the large compositional shifts found in this case imply that compositional analysis of similar CVD and PVD grown materials is critical to correctly interpret topological insulator performance. Further, the characterization techniques deployed, including STEM-EDS and ToF-SIMS, serve as a case study in determining such compositional shifts in two-dimensional form.

Thermomechanical In Situ Monitoring of Bi2Te3 Thin Film and Its Relationship with Microstructure and Thermoelectric Performances

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jeong, Min-Woo; Na, Sekwon; Shin, Haishan; Park, Hong-Bum; Lee, Hoo-Jeong; Joo, Young-Chang

2018-04-01

Performance enhancement has been studied for thin-film thermoelectric materials for small-scale energy applications. The microstructural evolution of bismuth telluride (Bi2Te3) was investigated with respect to performance enhancement via in situ thermomechanical analysis due to the post-annealing process. The thermomechanical behavior of Bi2Te3 changes gradually at approximately 200 °C with the formation of a quintuple-layer structure, which was confirmed by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy. It was found that highly oriented (006), (0015) was formed with a quintuple-layer structure parallel to the substrate, and the Eg 2Raman vibration mode of Bi2Te3 significantly increased after forming the layer structure with decreased defects. Therefore, the slope of the stress curve was affected by the longer atomic distance of the van der Waals bonds with the formation of (00l) oriented layered-structure grain. The decreased number of defects in the layer structure affects the electrical and thermal properties of the Bi2Te3 thin film. Due to the microstructural evolution, the power factor of Bi2Te3 was enhanced by approximately 14.8 times by the quintuple-layer structure of Bi2Te3 formed during the annealing process, which contributed to a better understanding of the performance enhancement via post-annealing and to research on other highly oriented layer structure materials.

Significantly improved dielectric performances of nanocomposites via loading two-dimensional core-shell structure Bi2Te3@SiO2 nanosheets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Jianwen; Wang, Xiucai; Yu, Xinmei; Fan, Yun; Duan, Zhikui; Jiang, Yewen; Yang, Faquan; Zhou, Yuexia

2018-07-01

Polymer/semiconductor-insulator nanocomposites can display high dielectric constants with a relatively low dissipation factor under low electric fields, and thus seem to promising for high energy density capacitors. Here, a novel nanocomposite films is developed by loading two-dimensional (2D) core-shell structure Bi2Te3@SiO2 nanosheets in the poly (vinylidene fluoride-hexafluoro propylene) (P(VDF-HFP)) polymer matrix. The 2D Bi2Te3 nanosheets were prepared through simple microwave-assisted method. The experimental results suggesting that the SiO2 shell layer between the fillers and polymer matrix could effectively improve the dielectric constant, dielectric loss, AC conductivity, and breakdown strength of composites films. The composite films load with 10 vol.% 2D Bi2Te3@SiO2 nanosheets exhibits a high dielectric constant of 70.3 at 1 kHz and relatively low dielectric loss of 0.058 at 1 kHz. The finite element simulation of electric field and electric current density distribution revealed that the SiO2 shell layer between the fillers and polymer matrix could effectively improve the energy loss, local electric field strength, and breakdown strength of composite films. Therefore, this work will provide a promising route to achieve high-performance capacitors.

Structure and Thermoelectric Properties of Bi2−xSbxTe3 Nanowires Grown in Flexible Nanoporous Polycarbonate Templates

PubMed Central

Datta, Anuja; Sangle, Abhijeet; Hardingham, Nick; Cooper, Charles; Kraan, Max; Ritchie, David; Narayan, Vijay; Kar-Narayan, Sohini

2017-01-01

We report the room-temperature growth of vertically aligned ternary Bi2−xSbxTe3 nanowires of diameter ~200 nm and length ~12 µm, within flexible track-etched nanoporous polycarbonate (PC) templates via a one-step electrodeposition process. Bi2−xSbxTe3 nanowires with compositions spanning the entire range from pure Bi2Te3 (x = 0) to pure Sb2Te3 (x = 2) were systematically grown within the nanoporous channels of PC templates from a tartaric–nitric acid based electrolyte, at the end of which highly crystalline nanowires of uniform composition were obtained. Compositional analysis showed that the Sb concentration could be tuned by simply varying the electrolyte composition without any need for further annealing of the samples. Thermoelectric properties of the Bi2−xSbxTe3 nanowires were measured using a standardized bespoke setup while they were still embedded within the flexible PC templates. PMID:28772915

Effects of an in vacancy on local distortion of fast phase transition in Bi-doped In3SbTe2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Choi, Minho; Choi, Heechae; Kim, Seungchul; Ahn, Jinho; Kim, Yong Tae

2017-12-01

Indium vacancies in Bi-doped In3SbTe2 (BIST) cause local distortion or and faster phase transition of BIST with good stability. The formation energy of the In vacancy in the BIST is relatively lower compared to that in IST due to triple negative charge state of the In vacancy ( V 3- In) and higher concentration of the V 3- In in BIST. The band gap of BIST is substantially reduced with increasing concentrations of the V 3- In and the hole carriers, which results in a higher electrical conductivity. The phase-change memory (PRAM) device fabricated with the BIST shows very fast, stable switching characteristics at lower voltages.

MEMS/ECD Method for Making Bi(2-x)Sb(x)Te3 Thermoelectric Devices

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lim, James; Huang, Chen-Kuo; Ryan, Margaret; Snyder, G. Jeffrey; Herman, Jennifer; Fleurial, Jean-Pierre

2008-01-01

A method of fabricating Bi(2-x)Sb(x)Te3-based thermoelectric microdevices involves a combination of (1) techniques used previously in the fabrication of integrated circuits and of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and (2) a relatively inexpensive MEMS-oriented electrochemical-deposition (ECD) technique. The present method overcomes the limitations of prior MEMS fabrication techniques and makes it possible to satisfy requirements.

Thermal annealing effect on structural and thermoelectric properties of hexagonal Bi2Te3 nanoplate thin films by drop-casting technique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hosokawa, Yuichi; Wada, Kodai; Tanaka, Masaki; Tomita, Koji; Takashiri, Masayuki

2018-02-01

High-purity hexagonal bismuth telluride (Bi2Te3) nanoplates were prepared by a solvothermal synthesis method, followed by the fabrication of nanoplate thin films by the drop-casting technique. The Bi2Te3 nanoplates exhibited a single-crystalline phase with a rhombohedral crystal structure. The nanoplates had a flat surface with edge sizes ranging from 500 to 2000 nm (average size of 1000 nm) and a thickness of less than 50 nm. The resulting Bi2Te3 nanoplate thin films were composed of well-aligned hexagonal nanoplates along the surface direction with an approximate film thickness of 40 µm. To tightly connect the nanoplates together within the thin films, thermal annealing was performed at different temperatures. We found that the thermoelectric properties, especially the Seebeck coefficient, were very sensitive to the annealing temperature. Finally, the optimum annealing temperature was determined to be 250 °C and the Seebeck coefficient and power factor were -300 µV/K and 3.5 µW/(cm·K2), respectively.

Enhanced performance of dye-sensitized solar cell using Bi2Te3 nanotube/ZnO nanoparticle composite photoanode by the synergistic effect of photovoltaic and thermoelectric conversion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dou, Yuanyao; Wu, Fang; Fang, Liang; Liu, Gaobin; Mao, Caiying; Wan, Kai; Zhou, Miao

2016-03-01

Ultralong and highly crystalline rhombohedral Bi2Te3 nanotubes were fabricated by a two-step solution phase reaction. A novel photoanode architecture has been fabricated by embedding 0-2.5 wt.% Bi2Te3 nanotubes into ZnO nanoparticles. The photocurrent density-voltage (J-V) characteristics reveal that the dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) with Bi2Te3/ZnO composite photoanode exhibit significantly enhanced photovoltaic performance. Notably, the DSSC incorporating 1.5 wt.% Bi2Te3 in the ZnO photoanode demonstrates an energy conversion efficiency (η) of 4.27%, which is 44.3% higher than that of the bare ZnO photoanode. The electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) analysis shows that the Bi2Te3 nanotubes can provide a direct pathway for electron transportation, prolong the lifetime of electrons, suppress the charge recombination and improve the electron collection efficiency. The thermoelectric effect analysis indicates that with the increase of irradiation time, Bi2Te3/ZnO composite photoanode could convert both heat and photon energies to electrical energy simultaneously and slow down the decline of η. The calculated electron density (ns) further proves that the increment of short-circuit current density (Jsc) is attributed to Seebeck effect in the composite photoanode. These results suggest that compositing 1D thermoelectric nano-materials in photoanode is a promising route to improve the performance of DSSCs.

High pressure transport studies on Sb2Te3 and BiSbTe3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jacobsen, Matthew; Cornelius, Andrew

2008-03-01

Interest regarding the abilities of thermoelectric materials has produced exciting results regarding their properties in the thin-film form [3]. However, little work has been done regarding the pressure tuning of the thermoelectric figure of merit for these materials materials. Some previous work has suggested that it would be useful to investigate this further using pressure tuning [1],[2]. Based upon this interest, facilities have been developed in our laboratory for the study of the relevant properties under high pressure up to near 20 GPa. Results of this work on Sb2Te3 and BiSbTe3 will be presented here from the use of these facilities. [1]Chen, G., Dresselhaus, M.S., Dresselhaus, G., Fleurial, J.-P., and Caillat, T. Recent developments in themoelectric materials. International Materials Reviews, 48, 45-66 (2003). [2]Rowe, D.M. CRC Handbook of Thermoelectric Materials. CRC Press, 1995. [3]Venkatasubramanian, R., Silvola, E., Colpitts, T., and O'Quinn, B. Thin-film thermoelectric devices with high room-temperature figures of merit. Nature, 413, 597-602, 2001.

Thermomechanical In Situ Monitoring of Bi2Te3 Thin Film and Its Relationship with Microstructure and Thermoelectric Performances

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jeong, Min-Woo; Na, Sekwon; Shin, Haishan; Park, Hong-Bum; Lee, Hoo-Jeong; Joo, Young-Chang

2018-07-01

Performance enhancement has been studied for thin-film thermoelectric materials for small-scale energy applications. The microstructural evolution of bismuth telluride (Bi2Te3) was investigated with respect to performance enhancement via in situ thermomechanical analysis due to the post-annealing process. The thermomechanical behavior of Bi2Te3 changes gradually at approximately 200 °C with the formation of a quintuple-layer structure, which was confirmed by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy. It was found that highly oriented (006), (0015) was formed with a quintuple-layer structure parallel to the substrate, and the E g 2 Raman vibration mode of Bi2Te3 significantly increased after forming the layer structure with decreased defects. Therefore, the slope of the stress curve was affected by the longer atomic distance of the van der Waals bonds with the formation of (00 l) oriented layered-structure grain. The decreased number of defects in the layer structure affects the electrical and thermal properties of the Bi2Te3 thin film. Due to the microstructural evolution, the power factor of Bi2Te3 was enhanced by approximately 14.8 times by the quintuple-layer structure of Bi2Te3 formed during the annealing process, which contributed to a better understanding of the performance enhancement via post-annealing and to research on other highly oriented layer structure materials.

Quasiparticle band gap in the topological insulator Bi2Te3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nechaev, I. A.; Chulkov, E. V.

2013-10-01

We present a theoretical study of dispersion of states that form the bulk band-gap edges in the three-dimensional topological insulator Bi2Te3. Within density functional theory, we analyze the effect of atomic positions varied within the error range of the available experimental data and approximation chosen for the exchange-correlation functional on the bulk band gap and k-space location of valence- and conduction-band extrema. For each set of the positions with different exchange-correlation functionals, we show how many-body corrections calculated within a one-shot GW approach affect the mentioned characteristics of electronic structure of Bi2Te3. We thus also illustrate to what degree the one-shot GW results are sensitive to the reference one-particle band structure in the case of bismuth telluride. We found that for this topological insulator the GW corrections enlarge the fundamental band gap and for certain atomic positions and reference band structure bring its value in close agreement with experiment.

Microstructural and magneto-transport characterization of Bi2SexTe3-x topological insulator thin films grown by pulsed laser deposition method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jin, Zhenghe; Kumar, Raj; Hunte, Frank; Narayan, Jay; Kim, Ki Wook; North Carolina State University Team

Bi2SexTe3-x topological insulator thin films were grown on Al2O3 (0001) substrate by pulsed laser deposition (PLD). XRD and other structural characterization measurements confirm the growth of the textured Bi2SexTe3-x thin films on Al2O3 substrate. The magneto-transport properties of thick and thin Þlms were investigated to study the effect of thickness on the topological insulator properties of the Bi2SexTe3 - x films. A pronounced semiconducting behavior with a highly insulating ground state was observed in the resistivity vs. temperature data. The presence of the weak anti-localization (WAL) effect with a sharp cusp in the magnetoresistance measurements confirms the 2-D surface transport originating from the TSS in Bi2SexTe3-x TI films. A high fraction of surface transport is observed in the Bi2SexTe3-x TI thin films which decreases in Bi2SexTe3-x TI thick films. The Cosine (θ) dependence of the WAL effect supports the observation of a high proportion of 2-D surface state contribution to overall transport properties of the Bi2SexTe3-x TI thin films. Our results show promise that high quality Bi2SexTe3-x TI thin films with significant surface transport can be grown by PLD method to exploit the exotic properties of the surface transport in future generation spintronic devices. This work was supported, in part, by National Science Foundation ECCS-1306400 and FAME.

Hydrothermal Synthesis Au-Bi2Te3 Nanocomposite Thermoelectric Film with a Hierarchical Sub-Micron Antireflection Quasi-Periodic Structure.

PubMed

Tian, Junlong; Zhang, Wang; Zhang, Yuan; Xue, Ruiyang; Wang, Yuhua; Zhang, Zhijian; Zhang, Di

2015-06-03

In this work, Au-Bi(2)Te(3) nanocomposite thermoelectric film with a hierarchical sub-micron antireflection quasi-periodic structure was synthesized via a low-temperature chemical route using Troides helena (Linnaeus) forewing (T_FW) as the biomimetic template. This method combines chemosynthesis with biomimetic techniques, without the requirement of expensive equipment and energy intensive processes. The microstructure and the morphology of the Au-Bi(2)Te(3) nanocomposite thermoelectric film was analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field-emission scanning-electron microscopy (FESEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Coupled the plasmon resonances of the Au nanoparticles with the hierarchical sub-micron antireflection quasi-periodic structure, the Au-Bi(2)Te(3) nanocomposite thermoelectric film possesses an effective infrared absorption and infrared photothermal conversion performance. Based on the finite difference time domain method and the Joule effect, the heat generation and the heat source density distribution of the Au-Bi(2)Te(3) nanocomposite thermoelectric film were studied. The heterogeneity of heat source density distribution of the Au-Bi(2)Te(3) nanocomposite thermoelectric film opens up a novel promising technique for generating thermoelectric power under illumination.

Anisotropic Effects on the Thermoelectric Properties of Highly Oriented Electrodeposited Bi2Te3 Films

PubMed Central

Manzano, Cristina V.; Abad, Begoña; Muñoz Rojo, Miguel; Koh, Yee Rui; Hodson, Stephen L.; Lopez Martinez, Antonio M.; Xu, Xianfan; Shakouri, Ali; Sands, Timothy D.; Borca-Tasciuc, Theodorian; Martin-Gonzalez, Marisol

2016-01-01

Highly oriented [1 1 0] Bi2Te3 films were obtained by pulsed electrodeposition. The structure, composition, and morphology of these films were characterized. The thermoelectric figure of merit (zT), both parallel and perpendicular to the substrate surface, were determined by measuring the Seebeck coefficient, electrical conductivity, and thermal conductivity in each direction. At 300 K, the in-plane and out-of-plane figure of merits of these Bi2Te3 films were (5.6 ± 1.2)·10−2 and (10.4 ± 2.6)·10−2, respectively. PMID:26776726

Structural stability and phase transition of Bi 2 Te 3 under high pressure and low temperature

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhang, J. L.; Zhang, S. J.; Zhu, J. L.

2017-09-01

Structural stability and phase transition of topological insulator Bi2Te3 were studied via angle-dispersive synchrotron radiation X-ray diffraction under high pressure and low temperature condition. The results manifest that the R-3m phase (phase I) is stable at 8 K over the pressure range up to 10 GPa and phase transition occurs between 8 K and 45 K at 8 GPa. According to the Birch-Murnaghan equation of state, the bulk modulus at ambient pressure B0 was estimated to be 45 ± 3 GPa with the assumption of B0' = 4. The structural robustness of phase I at 8 K suggests that themore » superconductivity below 10 GPa is related to phase I. Topological properties of superconducting Bi2Te3 phase under pressure were discussed.« less

Detection of current induced spin polarization in epitaxial Bi2Te3 thin film

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dey, Rik; Roy, Anupam; Pramanik, Tanmoy; Rai, Amritesh; Heon Shin, Seung; Majumder, Sarmita; Register, Leonard F.; Banerjee, Sanjay K.

2017-03-01

We electrically detect charge current induced spin polarization on the surface of a molecular beam epitaxy grown Bi2Te3 thin film in a two-terminal device with a ferromagnetic MgO/Fe contact and a nonmagnetic Ti/Au contact. The two-point resistance, measured in an applied magnetic field, shows a hysteresis tracking the magnetization of Fe. A theoretical estimate is obtained for the change in resistance on reversing the magnetization direction of Fe from coupled spin-charge transport equations based on the quantum kinetic theory. The order of magnitude and the sign of the hysteresis are consistent with the spin-polarized surface state of Bi2Te3.

Enhanced thermoelectric properties in Bi and Te doped p-type Cu3SbSe4 compound

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumar, Aparabal; Dhama, P.; Banerji, P.

2018-04-01

We report the effect of Bi and Te doping on the electrical transport and thermoelectric properties of Cu3SbSe4 with an aim to maximize the power factor and/or minimize the thermal conductivity. A series of Cu3Sb1-xBixSe4-yTey (x = 0, 0.02, 0.04, 0.06, 0.08; y = 0.01) samples were prepared by melt growth technique and ball milling followed by spark plasma sintering. The structural analysis and microstructures were carried out by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and Field emission scanning electron microscopy. Electrical resistivity is found to decrease with increase in doping contents, which is due to increase in carrier concentration and formation of acceptor level inside the energy gap. Reduction in thermal conductivity with increase in Bi content is attributed to scattering of phonons through grain boundaries and mass fluctuation. Maximum figure of merit (ZT ˜ 0.76) was achieved in the Cu3Sb0.98Bi0.02Se3.99Te0.01 sample at 650 K, which is approximately twice of the Cu3SbSe4. The results reveal that the Bi and Te doped Cu3SbSe4 leads to remarkable improvement in its thermoelectric properties.

Synthesis, structural, thermal and optical properties of TeO2-Bi2O3-GeO2-Li2O glasses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dimowa, Louiza; Piroeva, Iskra; Atanasova-Vladimirova, S.; Petrova, Nadia; Ganev, Valentin; Titorenkova, Rositsa; Yankov, Georgi; Petrov, Todor; Shivachev, Boris L.

2016-10-01

In this study, synthesis and characterization of novel quaternary tellurite glass system TeO2-Bi2O3-GeO2-Li2O is presented. The compositions include TeO2 and GeO2 as glass formers while different proportion of Bi2O3 and Li2O act as network modifiers. Differential thermal analysis, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, UV-Vis and Raman spectroscopy are applied to study the structural, thermal and optical properties of the studied glasses. Obtained glasses possess a relatively low glass transition temperature (around 300 °C) if compared to other tellurite glasses, show good thermal transparency in the visible and near infra-red (from 2.4 to 0.4 μm) and can double the frequency of laser light from its original wavelength of 1064 nm to its second-harmonic at 532 nm (i.e. second harmonic generation).

Evolution of thermoelectric performance for (Bi,Sb){sub 2}Te{sub 3} alloys from cutting waste powders to bulks with high figure of merit

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fan, Xi'an, E-mail: groupfxa@163.com; Key Laboratory for Ferrous Metallurgy and Resources Utilization of Ministry of Education, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430081; School of Materials and Metallurgy, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, 947 Heping Road, Qingshan District, Wuhan 430081

Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} based cutting waste powders from cutting wafers were firstly selected as raw materials to prepare p-type Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} based thermoelectric (TE) materials. Through washing, reducing, composition correction, smelting and resistance pressing sintering (RPS) process, p-type (Bi,Sb){sub 2}Te{sub 3} alloy bulks with different nominal stoichiometries were successfully obtained. The evolution of microstructure and TE performance for (Bi,Sb){sub 2}Te{sub 3} alloys were investigated in detail. All evidences confirmed that most of contaminants from line cutting process such as cutting fluid and oxides of Bi, Sb or Te could be removed by washing, reducing and smelting process used inmore » this work. The carrier content and corresponding TE properties could be adjusted effectively by appropriate composition correction treatment. At lastly, a bulk with a nominal stoichiometry of Bi{sub 0.44}Sb{sub 1.56}Te{sub 3} was obtained and its' dimensionless figure of merit (ZT) was about 1.16 at 90 °C. The ZT values of Bi{sub 0.36}Sb{sub 1.64}Te{sub 3} and Bi{sub 0.4}Sb{sub 1.6}Te{sub 3} alloy bulks could also reach 0.98 and 1.08, respectively. Different from the conventional recycling technology such as hydrometallurgy extraction methods, the separation and extraction of beneficial elements such as Bi, Sb and Te did not need to be performed and the Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} based bulks with high TE properties could be directly obtained from the cutting waste powders. In addition, the recycling technology introduced here was green and more suitable for practical industrial application. It can improve material utilization and lower raw material costs of manufacturers. - Graphical abstract: Three kinds of typical morphologies for the fractographs: typical lamellar structure, agglomerated submicron-sized granules and dispersed cubic particles from the initial cutting waste powders. - Highlights: • Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} based wastes were directly selected as raw materials

Surface Reactivity Enhancement on a Pd/Bi2Te3 Heterostructure through Robust Topological Surface States

PubMed Central

He, Qing Lin; Lai, Ying Hoi; Lu, Yao; Law, Kam Tuen; Sou, Iam Keong

2013-01-01

We present a study of the surface reactivity of a Pd/Bi2Te3 thin film heterostructure. The topological surface states from Bi2Te3, being delocalized and robust owing to their topological natures, were found to act as an effective electron bath that significantly enhances the surface reactivity of palladium in the presence of two oxidizing agents, oxygen and tellurium respectively, which is consistent with a theoretical calculation. The surface reactivity of the adsorbed tellurium on this heterostructure is also intensified possibly benefitted from the effective transfer of the bath electrons. A partially inserted iron ferromagnetic layer at the interface of this heterostructure was found to play two competing roles arising from the higher-lying d-band center of the Pd/Fe bilayer and the interaction between the ferromagnetism and the surface spin texture of Bi2Te3 on the surface reactivity and their characteristics also demonstrate that the electron bath effect is long-lasting against accumulated thickness of adsorbates. PMID:23970163

Effects of Sb Content (x) on (Bi(1-x)Sb(x))2Te3 Thermoelectric Thin Film Deposited by Effusion Cell Evaporator.

PubMed

Yong, Ho; Na, Sekwon; Gang, Jun-Gu; Jeon, Seong-Jae; Hyun, Seungmin; Lee, Hoo-Jeong

2015-10-01

This paper investigates the effects of the Sb content (x) on (Bi(1-x)Sb(x))2Te3 thermoelectric films with x changing widely from 0 (Sb2Te3) to 1 (Bi2Te3). First, the XRD analysis discloses that with the Sb content (x) increasing, the phase changed gradually from Bi2Te3 to Sb2Te3 as Sb atoms replaced substitutionally Bi atoms. Further microstructure analysis reveals that an extensive grain growth occurred during post-annealing for the samples with high Sb contents. According to the measurement of electrical and thermoelectric properties, the polarity of the charge carrier and Seebeck coefficient switched n-type to p-type in the range of x = 0.45~0.63. For the n-type samples, the power factor is highest when x = 0.18 around 46.01 μW/K(2) whereas Sb2Te3, for the p-type samples, shows the highest value, 62.48 μW/K(2)cm.

Influence of Doping and Nanostructuration on n-Type Bi2(Te0.8Se0.2)3 Alloys Synthesized by Arc Melting

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gharsallah, Mouna; Serrano-Sanchez, Federico; Nemes, Norbert M.; Martinez, Jose Luis; Alonso, Jose Antonio

2017-01-01

In competitive thermoelectric devices for energy conversion and generation, high-efficiency materials of both n-type and p-type are required. For this, Bi2Te3-based alloys have the best thermoelectric properties in room temperature applications. Partial replacement of tellurium by selenium is expected to introduce new donor states in the band gap, which would alter electrical conductivity and thermopower. We report on the preparation of n-type Bi2(Te1-xSex)3 solid solutions by a straightforward arc-melting technique, yielding nanostructured polycrystalline pellets. X-ray and neutron powder diffraction was used to assess Se inclusion, also indicating that the interactions between quintuple layers constituting this material are weakened upon Se doping, while the covalency of intralayer bonds is augmented. Moreover, scanning electron microscopy shows large surfaces perpendicular to the c crystallographic axis assembled as stacked sheets. Grain boundaries related to this 2D nanostructuration affect the thermal conductivity reducing it below 0.8 Wm-1K-1 at room temperature. Furthermore, Se doping increases the absolute Seebeck coefficient up to -140 μV K-1 at 400 K, which is also beneficial for improved thermoelectric efficiency.

Surface quantum oscillations and weak antilocalization effect in topological insulator (Bi0.3Sb0.7)2Te3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Urkude, Rajashri; Rawat, Rajeev; Palikundwar, Umesh

2018-04-01

In 3D topological insulators, achieving a genuine bulk-insulating state is an important topic of research. The material system (Bi,Sb)2(Te,Se)3 has been proposed as a topological insulator with high resistivity and low carrier concentration. Topological insulators are predicted to present interesting surface transport phenomena but their experimental studies have been hindered by metallic bulk conduction that overwhelms the surface transport. Here we present a study of the bulk-insulating properties of (Bi0.3Sb0.7)2Te3. We show that a high resistivity exceeding 1 Ωm as a result of variable-range hopping behavior of state and Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations as coming from the topological surface state. We have been able to clarify both the bulk and surface transport channels, establishing a comprehensive understanding of the transport properties in this material. Our results demonstrate that (Bi0.3Sb0.7)2Te3 is a good material for studying the surface quantum transport in a topological insulator.

High rate dry etching of (BiSb)2Te3 film by CH4/H2-based plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Song, Junqiang; Shi, Xun; Chen, Lidong

2014-10-01

Etching characteristics of p-type (BiSb)2Te3 films were studied with CH4/H2/Ar gas mixture using an inductively coupled plasma (ICP)-reactive ion etching (RIE) system. The effects of gas mixing ratio, working pressure and gas flow rate on the etch rate and the surface morphology were investigated. The vertical etched profile with the etch rate of 600 nm/min was achieved at the optimized processing parameters. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis revealed the non-uniform etching of (BiSb)2Te3 films due to disparate volatility of the etching products. Micro-masking effects caused by polymer deposition and Bi-rich residues resulted in roughly etched surfaces. Smooth surfaces can be obtained by optimizing the CH4/H2/Ar mixing ratio.

Enhanced thermoelectric performance of Bi2Te3 through uniform dispersion of single wall carbon nanotubes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ahmad, Kaleem; Wan, Chunlei

2017-10-01

The advancement in nanostructured powder processing has attracted great interest as a cost effective and scalable strategy for high performance thermoelectric bulk materials. However, the level of technical breakthrough realized in quantum dot supperlattices/wires has not yet been demonstrated in these materials. Here, we report the first ever study on the uniform dispersion of single wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) in nanostructured Bi2Te3 bulk, and their effect on thermoelectric parameters above room temperature. The Bi2Te3 based SWCNT composites were prepared through controlled powder processing, and their thermoelectric properties were finely tuned at the nanoscale by regulating various (0.5, 0.75, 1.0 and 1.5) vol% of SWCNTs in the matrix. The flexible ropes of SWCNT, making an interconnected network through the inter/trans granular positions of Bi2Te3, thus substantially change the transport properties of the composites. The perfect one-dimensional (1D) conducting structure of SWCNTs acts as a source of electrical transport through a percolating network, with significantly suppressed lattice thermal conductivity, via intensified boundary scattering. The remarkable increase in power factor is ascribed to energy filtering effects and excellent electrical transport of 1D SWCNTs in the composites. Consequently, with a considerable reduction in thermal conductivity, the figure of merit culminates in a several-fold improvement, at 0.5 vol% of SWCNTs, over pristine bulk Bi2Te3.

Enhanced thermoelectric performance of Bi2Te3 through uniform dispersion of single wall carbon nanotubes.

PubMed

Ahmad, Kaleem; Wan, Chunlei

2017-10-13

The advancement in nanostructured powder processing has attracted great interest as a cost effective and scalable strategy for high performance thermoelectric bulk materials. However, the level of technical breakthrough realized in quantum dot supperlattices/wires has not yet been demonstrated in these materials. Here, we report the first ever study on the uniform dispersion of single wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) in nanostructured Bi 2 Te 3 bulk, and their effect on thermoelectric parameters above room temperature. The Bi 2 Te 3 based SWCNT composites were prepared through controlled powder processing, and their thermoelectric properties were finely tuned at the nanoscale by regulating various (0.5, 0.75, 1.0 and 1.5) vol% of SWCNTs in the matrix. The flexible ropes of SWCNT, making an interconnected network through the inter/trans granular positions of Bi 2 Te 3 , thus substantially change the transport properties of the composites. The perfect one-dimensional (1D) conducting structure of SWCNTs acts as a source of electrical transport through a percolating network, with significantly suppressed lattice thermal conductivity, via intensified boundary scattering. The remarkable increase in power factor is ascribed to energy filtering effects and excellent electrical transport of 1D SWCNTs in the composites. Consequently, with a considerable reduction in thermal conductivity, the figure of merit culminates in a several-fold improvement, at 0.5 vol% of SWCNTs, over pristine bulk Bi 2 Te 3 .

Evaluation of Electroplated Co-P Film as Diffusion Barrier Between In-48Sn Solder and SiC-Dispersed Bi2Te3 Thermoelectric Material

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Siyang; Yang, Donghua; Tan, Qing; Li, Liangliang

2015-06-01

The diffusion barrier property of Co-P film as a buffer layer between SiC-dispersed Bi2Te3 bulk material and In-48Sn solder was investigated. A Co-P film with thickness of ~6 µm was electroplated on SiC-dispersed Bi2Te3 substrate, joined with In-48Sn solder by a reflow process, and annealed at 100°C for up to 625 h. The formation and growth kinetics of intermetallic compounds (IMCs) at the interface between the In-48Sn and substrate were studied using transmission electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy. The results showed that crystalline Co(In,Sn)3 formed as an irregular layer adjacent to the solder side at the solder/Co-P interface due to diffusion of Co towards the solder, and a small amount of amorphous Co45P13In12Sn30 appeared at the Co-P side because of diffusion of In and Sn into Co-P. The growth of Co(In,Sn)3 and Co45P13In12Sn30 during solid-state aging was slow, being controlled by interfacial reaction and diffusion, respectively. For comparison, In-48Sn/Bi2Te3-SiC joints were prepared and the IMCs in the joints analyzed. Without a diffusion barrier, In penetrated rapidly into the substrate, which led to the formation of amorphous In x Bi y phase in crystalline In4Te3 matrix. These IMCs grew quickly with prolongation of the annealing time, and their growth was governed by volume diffusion of elements. The experimental data demonstrate that electroplated Co-P film is an effective diffusion barrier for use in Bi2Te3-based thermoelectric modules.

Thin single-crystalline Bi2(Te1-xSex)3 ternary nanosheets synthesized by a solvothermal technique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, Jing; Jian, Jikang; Zhang, Zhihua; Wu, Rong; Li, Jin; Sun, Yanfei

2016-01-01

Bi2(Te1-xSex)3 ternary nanosheets have been successfully synthesized through a facile solvothermal technique using diethylenetriamine as solvent, where x can vary from 0 to 1. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) indicate that the as-synthesized Bi2(Te1-xSex)3 samples are nanosheets with rhombohedral structure, and the thickness of the nanosheets can be as thin as several nanometers. High resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and selected area electron diffraction (SAED) reveal that the nanosheets are single crystalline with a rhombohedral structure. Energy disperse spectroscopy (EDS) and XRD analysis by Vegard's law confirm that the ternary Bi2(Te1-xSex)3 nanosheets have been obtained here. The growth of the nanosheets is discussed based on an amine-based molecular template mechanism that has been employed to synthesize some other metal chalcogenides.

High-pressure studies on electronic transport properties of Te-substituted Bi2Se3–xTex topological insulators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Devidas, T. R.; Abhirami, S.; Sharma, Shilpam; Amaladas, E. P.; Mani, Awadhesh

2018-03-01

Studies on the electrical transport properties of the 3D topological insulators Bi2Se3 under iso-electronic substitution of Te at Se sites and the application of external pressure have been performed to understand the evolution of its ground-state properties and to explore possible electronic phase transitions in Bi2Se3‑x Te x (x=0\\text{--}3 ) systems. While the external pressure suppresses the metallic behaviour of Bi2Se3 arising from defect charge carriers leading ultimately to non-metal behaviour, the effect of pressure on Te-doped samples x=1\\text{--}2 seems to be more striking, and causes multiple electronic phase transitions such as an insulator-to-metal transition (MIT) followed by pressure-induced superconducting transition at higher pressures. All the critical parameters such as critical pressure for the occurrence of MIT (PMIT}) , superconductivity (PSC}) and maximum pressure induced superconducting transition temperature (Tc,max}) for given compositions are seen to exhibit maxima at x=1.6 which is the composition that exhibits the most insulating behaviour with least concentration of defect charge carriers among the samples of Bi2Se3‑x Te x (x=0\\text{--}3 ) series. The superconducting transition temperature (Tc}) decreases with increasing pressure in x=1\\text{--}2 samples, while it remains nearly constant for Bi2Te3. Based on the analysis of the experimental data it is surmised that the pressure-induced superconductivity seen in these systems is of conventional (BCS) type.

Expanding the remarkable structural diversity of uranyl tellurites: hydrothermal preparation and structures of K[UO(2)Te(2)O(5)(OH)], Tl(3)[(UO(2))(2)[Te(2)O(5)(OH)](Te(2)O(6))].2H(2)O, beta-Tl(2)[UO(2)(TeO(3))(2)], and Sr(3)[UO(2)(TeO(3))(2)](TeO(3))(2).

PubMed

Almond, Philip M; Albrecht-Schmitt, Thomas E

2002-10-21

The reactions of UO(2)(C(2)H(3)O(2))(2).2H(2)O with K(2)TeO(3).H(2)O, Na(2)TeO(3) and TlCl, or Na(2)TeO(3) and Sr(OH)(2).8H(2)O under mild hydrothermal conditions yield K[UO(2)Te(2)O(5)(OH)] (1), Tl(3)[(UO(2))(2)[Te(2)O(5)(OH)](Te(2)O(6))].2H(2)O (2) and beta-Tl(2)[UO(2)(TeO(3))(2)] (3), or Sr(3)[UO(2)(TeO(3))(2)](TeO(3))(2) (4), respectively. The structure of 1 consists of tetragonal bipyramidal U(VI) centers that are bound by terminal oxo groups and tellurite anions. These UO(6) units span between one-dimensional chains of corner-sharing, square pyramidal TeO(4) polyhedra to create two-dimensional layers. Alternating corner-shared oxygen atoms in the tellurium oxide chains are protonated to create short/long bonding patterns. The one-dimensional chains of corner-sharing TeO(4) units found in 1 are also present in 2. However, in 2 there are two distinct chains present, one where alternating corner-shared oxygen atoms are protonated, and one where the chains are unprotonated. The uranyl moieties in 2 are bound by five oxygen atoms from the tellurite chains to create seven-coordinate pentagonal bipyramidal U(VI). The structures of 3 and 4 both contain one-dimensional [UO(2)(TeO(3))(2)](2-) chains constructed from tetragonal bipyramidal U(VI) centers that are bridged by tellurite anions. The chains differ between 3 and 4 in that all of the pyramidal tellurite anions in 3 have the same orientation, whereas the tellurite anions in 4 have opposite orientations on each side of the chain. In 4, there are also additional isolated TeO(3)(2-) anions present. Crystallographic data: 1, orthorhombic, space group Cmcm, a = 7.9993(5) A, b = 8.7416(6) A, c = 11.4413(8) A, Z = 4; 2, orthorhombic, space group Pbam, a = 10.0623(8) A, b = 23.024(2) A, c = 7.9389(6) A, Z = 4; 3, monoclinic, space group P2(1)/n, a = 5.4766(4) A, b = 8.2348(6) A, c = 20.849(3) A, beta = 92.329(1) degrees, Z = 4; 4, monoclinic, space group C2/c, a = 20.546(1) A, b = 5.6571(3) A, c = 13.0979(8) A, beta

Large spin-orbit coupling and helical spin textures in 2D heterostructure [Pb 2BiS 3][AuTe 2

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fang, L.; Im, J.; DeGottardi, W.

Two-dimensional heterostructures with strong spin-orbit coupling have direct relevance to topological quantum materials and potential applications in spin-orbitronics. In this work, we report on novel quantum phenomena in [Pb 2BiS 3][AuTe 2], a new 2D strong spin-orbit coupling heterostructure system. Transport measurements reveal the spin-related carrier scattering is at odds with the Abrikosov-Gorkov model due to strong spin-orbit coupling. This is consistent with our band structure calculations which reveal a large spin-orbit coupling gap of ε so = 0.21 eV. Furthermore, the band structure is also characterized by helical-like spin textures which are mainly induced by strong spin-orbit coupling andmore » the inversion symmetry breaking in the heterostructure system.« less

Large spin-orbit coupling and helical spin textures in 2D heterostructure [Pb 2BiS 3][AuTe 2

DOE PAGES

Fang, L.; Im, J.; DeGottardi, W.; ...

2016-10-12

Two-dimensional heterostructures with strong spin-orbit coupling have direct relevance to topological quantum materials and potential applications in spin-orbitronics. In this work, we report on novel quantum phenomena in [Pb 2BiS 3][AuTe 2], a new 2D strong spin-orbit coupling heterostructure system. Transport measurements reveal the spin-related carrier scattering is at odds with the Abrikosov-Gorkov model due to strong spin-orbit coupling. This is consistent with our band structure calculations which reveal a large spin-orbit coupling gap of ε so = 0.21 eV. Furthermore, the band structure is also characterized by helical-like spin textures which are mainly induced by strong spin-orbit coupling andmore » the inversion symmetry breaking in the heterostructure system.« less

Thermoelectric properties of Nb3SbxTe7-x compounds

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Snyder, J.; Wang, S.; Caillat, T.

2002-01-01

Niobium antimony telluride, Nb3Sbx,Te7-x, was synthesized and tested for thermoelectric properties in the Thermoelectrics group at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The forty atoms per unit cell of Nb3Sb2Te5 and its varied mixture of atoms yield acomplicated structure, suggesting that Nb3Sb2Te5 and related compounds may exhibit low thermal conductivity and hence a higher ZT value. Nb3SbxTe7-x, compounds were synthesized and subsequently analyzed for their Seebeck voltage, heat conduction, and electrical resistivity. Results indicate that Nb3Sb2Te5 is a heavily doped semiconductor whose thermoelectric properties are compromised by compensating n-type and p-type carriers. Attempts to dope in favor of either carrier by varying the Sb:Te ratio yielded samples containing secondary metallic phases that dominated the transport properties of the resulting compounds.

Ultrahigh sensitivity of anomalous Hall effect sensor based on Cr-doped Bi 2Te 3 topological insulator thin films

DOE PAGES

Ni, Y.; Zhang, Z.; Nlebedim, I. C.; ...

2016-07-01

Anomalous Hall effect (AHE) was recently discovered in magnetic element-doped topological insulators (TIs), which promises low power consumption and high efficiency spintronics and electronics. This discovery broadens the family of Hall sensors. In this paper, AHE sensors based on Cr-doped Bi 2Te 3 topological insulator thin films are studied with two thicknesses (15 and 65 nm). It is found, in both cases, that ultrahigh Hall sensitivity can be obtained in Cr-doped Bi 2Te 3. Hall sensitivity reaches 1666 Ω/T in the sensor with the 15 nm TI thin film, which is higher than that of the conventional semiconductor HE sensor.more » The AHE of 65 nm sensors is even stronger, which causes the sensitivity increasing to 2620 Ω/T. Furthermore, after comparing Cr-doped Bi 2Te 3 with the previously studied Mn-doped Bi 2Te 3 TI Hall sensor, the sensitivity of the present AHE sensor shows about 60 times higher in 65 nm sensors. Furthermore, the implementation of AHE sensors based on a magnetic-doped TI thin film indicates that the TIs are good candidates for ultrasensitive AHE sensors.« less

Controllable Electrical Contact Resistance between Cu and Oriented-Bi2Te3 Film via Interface Tuning.

PubMed

Kong, Xixia; Zhu, Wei; Cao, Lili; Peng, Yuncheng; Shen, Shengfei; Deng, Yuan

2017-08-02

The contact resistance between metals and semiconductors has become critical for the design of thin-film thermoelectric devices with their continuous miniaturization. Herein, we report a novel interface tuning method to regulate the contact resistance at the Bi 2 Te 3 -Cu interface, and three Bi 2 Te 3 films with different oriented microstructures are obtained. The lowest contact resistivity (∼10 -7 Ω cm 2 ) is observed between highly (00l) oriented Bi 2 Te 3 and Cu film, nearly an order of magnitude lower than other orientations. This significant decrease of contact resistivity is attributed to the denser film connections, lower lattice misfit, larger effective conducting contact area, and smaller width of the surface depletion region. Meanwhile, our results show that the reduction of contact resistance has little dependence on the interfacial diffusion based on the little change in contact resistivity after the introduction of an effective Ti barrier layer. Our work provides a new idea for the mitigation of contact resistivity in thin-film thermoelectric devices and also gives certain guidance for the size design of the next-level miniaturized devices.

Impact of stoichiometry and disorder on the electronic structure of the PbBi2Te4 -xSex topological insulator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shvets, I. A.; Klimovskikh, I. I.; Aliev, Z. S.; Babanly, M. B.; Sánchez-Barriga, J.; Krivenkov, M.; Shikin, A. M.; Chulkov, E. V.

2017-12-01

Detailed comparative theoretical and experimental study of electronic properties and spin structure was carried out for a series of Pb-based quaternary compounds PbBi2Te4 -xSex . For all values of x , these compounds are theoretically predicted to be topological insulators, possessing at high Se content a remarkably large band gap and a Dirac point isolated from bulk states. Using spin- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, it was shown that the PbBi2Te2Se2 and PbBi2Te1.4Se2.6 compounds are characterized by well-defined spin-polarized topological surface state in the bulk gap. To define the probable distribution of atoms over the atomic sites for these samples, we performed ab initio calculations in ordered and disordered configurations of the unit cell. We found that theoretical calculations better reproduce photoemission data when Te atoms are placed in the outermost layers of the septuple layer block.

Thermoelectric Properties Studies on n-type Bi2Te3-xSex

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Jian; Yan, Xiao; Ma, Yi; Poudel, Bed; Lan, Yucheng; Wang, D. Z.; Ren, Z. F.; Hao, Q.; Chen, G.

2008-03-01

Bi2Te3-xSex is a classic room temperature n-type thermoelectric material. In spite of the long history of research, its ZT is still below 1. By directly making nano sized particles using mechanical alloy from element, then pressing the nanoparticles into 100% dense bulk sample with nano-structures by hot press, we expect to decrease the thermal conductivity by the increased grain boundary scattering of phonons so to improve the ZT above 1. The ratio of Te/Se was varied systematically to investigate its effect on thermal conductivity.

Magnetotransport study of (Sb 1-xBi x) 2Te 3 thin films on mica substrate for ideal topological insulator

DOE PAGES

Ni, Yan; Zhang, Zhen; Nlebedim, Cajetan I.; ...

2016-02-29

In this study, we deposited high quality (Sb 1–xBi x) 2Te 3 on mica substrate by molecular beam epitaxy and investigated their magnetotransport properties. It is found that the average surface roughness of thin films is lower than 2 nm. Moreover, a local maxima on the sheet resistance is obtained with x = 0.043, indicating a minimization of bulk conductivity at this composition. For (Sb 0.957Bi 0.043) 2Te 3, weak antilocalization with coefficient of -0.43 is observed, confirming the existence of 2D surface states. Moreover Shubnikov-de Hass oscillation behavior occurs under high magnetic field. The 2D carrier density is thenmore » determined as 0.81 × 10 16 m –2, which is lower than that of most TIs reported previously, indicating that (Sb 0.957Bi 0.043) 2Te 3 is close to ideal TI composition of which the Dirac point and Fermi surface cross within the bulk bandgap. Our results thus demonstrate the best estimated composition for ideal TI is close to (Sb 0.957Bi 0.043) 2Te 3 and will be helpful for designing TI-based devices.« less

The Influence of Sintering Temperature on the Microstructure and Thermoelectric Properties of n-Type Bi2Te3- x Se x Nanomaterials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Du, Y.; Cai, K. F.; Li, H.; An, B. J.

2011-05-01

Pure Bi2Te3 and Bi2Se3 nanopowders were hydrothermally synthesized, and n-type Bi2Te3- x Se x bulk samples were prepared by hot pressing a mixture of Bi2Te3 and Bi2Se3 nanopowders at 623 K, 648 K or 673 K and 80 MPa in vacuum. The phase composition of the powders and bulk samples were characterized by x-ray diffraction. The morphology of the powders was examined by transmission electron microscopy. The microstructure and composition of the bulk samples were characterized by field-emission scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy, respectively. The density of the samples increased with sintering temperature. The samples were somewhat oxidized, and the amount of oxide (Bi2TeO5) present increased with sintering temperature. The samples consisted of sheet-like grains with a thickness less than 100 nm. Seebeck coefficient, electrical conductivity, and thermal conductivity of the samples were measured from room temperature up to 573 K. Throughout the temperature range investigated, the sample sintered at 623 K had a higher power factor than the samples sintered at 648 K or 673 K.

Phonon Drag in Thin Films, Cases of Bi2Te3 and ZnTe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chi, Hang; Uher, Ctirad

2014-03-01

At low temperatures, in (semi-)conductors subjected to a thermal gradient, charge carriers (electrons and holes) are swept (dragged) by out-of-equilibrium phonons due to strong electron-phonon interaction, giving rise to a large contribution to the Seebeck coefficient called the phonon-drag effect. Such phenomenon was surprisingly observed in our recent transport study of highly mismatched alloys as potential thermoelectric materials: a significant phonon-drag thermopower reaching 1.5-2.5 mV/K was recorded for the first time in nitrogen-doped ZnTe epitaxial layers on GaAs (100). In thin films of Bi2Te3, we demonstrate a spectacular influence of substrate phonons on charge carriers. We show that one can control and tune the position and magnitude of the phonon-drag peak over a wide range of temperatures by depositing thin films on substrates with vastly different Debye temperatures. Our experiments also provide a way to study the nature of the phonon spectrum in thin films, which is rarely probed but clearly important for a complete understanding of thin film properties and the interplay of the substrate and films. This work is supported by the Center for Solar and Thermal Energy Conversion, an Energy Frontier Research Center funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences under Award Number DE-SC0000957.

Superconductivity versus structural phase transition in the closely related Bi 2Rh 3.5S 2 and Bi 2Rh 3S 2

DOE PAGES

Kaluarachchi, Udhara S.; Xie, Weiwei; Lin, Qisheng; ...

2015-05-19

Single crystals of Bi 2Rh 3S 2 and Bi 2Rh 3.5S 2 were synthesized by solution growth, and the crystal structures and thermodynamic and transport properties of both compounds were studied. In the case of Bi 2Rh 3S 2, a structural first-order transition at around 165 K is identified by single-crystal diffraction experiments, with clear signatures visible in resistivity, magnetization, and specific heat data. No superconducting transition for Bi 2Rh 3S 2 was observed down to 0.5 K. In contrast, no structural phase transition at high temperature was observed for Bi 2Rh 3.5S 2; however, bulk superconductivity with a criticalmore » temperature, T c ≈ 1.7 K, was observed. The Sommerfeld coefficient γ and the Debye temperature (Θ D) were found to be 9.41 mJ mol –1K –2 and 209 K, respectively, for Bi 2Rh 3S 2, and 22 mJ mol –1K –2 and 196 K, respectively, for Bi 2Rh 3.5S 2. As a result, the study of the specific heat in the superconducting state of Bi 2Rh 3.5S 2 suggests that Bi 2Rh 3.5S 2 is a weakly coupled, BCS superconductor.« less

Thickness dependent quantum oscillations of transport properties in topological insulator Bi2Te3 thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rogacheva, E. I.; Budnik, A. V.; Sipatov, A. Yu.; Nashchekina, O. N.; Dresselhaus, M. S.

2015-02-01

The dependences of the electrical conductivity, the Hall coefficient, and the Seebeck coefficient on the layer thickness d (d = 18-600 nm) of p-type topological insulator Bi2Te3 thin films grown by thermal evaporation in vacuum on glass substrates were obtained at room temperature. In the thickness range of d = 18-100 nm, sustained oscillations with a substantial amplitude were revealed. The observed oscillations are well approximated by a harmonic function with a period Δd = (9.5 ± 0.5) nm. At d > 100 nm, the transport coefficients practically do not change as d is increased. The oscillations of the kinetic properties are attributed to the quantum size effects due to the hole confinement in the Bi2Te3 quantum wells. The results of the theoretical calculations of Δd within the framework of a model of an infinitely deep potential well are in good agreement with the experimental results. It is suggested that the substantial amplitude of the oscillations and their sustained character as a function of d are connected with the topologically protected gapless surface states of Bi2Te3 and are inherent to topological insulators.

Kinetic limitation of chemical ordering in Bi2Te3-x Se x layers grown by molecular beam epitaxy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schreyeck, S.; Brunner, K.; Kirchner, A.; Bass, U.; Grauer, S.; Schumacher, C.; Gould, C.; Karczewski, G.; Geurts, J.; Molenkamp, L. W.

2016-04-01

We study the chemical ordering in Bi2Te3-x Se x grown by molecular beam epitaxy on Si substrates. We produce films in the full composition range from x  =  0 to 3, and determine their material properties using energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy, x-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy. By fitting the parameters of a kinetic growth model to these results, we obtain a consistent description of growth at a microscopic level. Our main finding is that despite the incorporation of Se in the central layer being much more probable than that of Te, the formation of a fully ordered Te-Bi-Se-Bi-Te layer is prevented by kinetic of the growth process. Indeed, the Se concentration in the central layer of Bi2Te2Se1 reaches a maximum of only  ≈75% even under ideal growth conditions. A second finding of our work is that the intensity ratio of the 0 0 12 and 0 0 6 x-ray reflections serves as an experimentally accessible quantitative measure of the degree of ordering in these films.

Structural, thermal, optical, and photoacoustic study of nanocrystalline Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} produced by mechanical alloying

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Souza, S. M.; Triches, D. M.; Poffo, C. M.

2011-01-01

Nanocrystalline Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} was produced by mechanical alloying and its properties were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) x-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy (RS), and photoacoustic spectroscopy (PAS). Combining the XRD and RS results, the volume fraction of the interfacial component in as-milled and annealed samples was estimated. The PAS results suggest that the contribution of the interfacial component to the thermal diffusivity of nanostructured Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} is very significant.

Reduction of chromium (VI) on the hetero-system CuBi2O4/TiO2 under solar light

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lahmar, H.; Benamira, M.; Akika, F. Z.; Trari, M.

2017-11-01

The CuBi2O4/TiO2 heterojunction was tested with success for the photo-catalytic reduction of chromate ions under sunlight. CuBi2O4, prepared by nitrate process, was characterised photo-electrochemically. The oxide is stable against photo corrosion by consumption of holes in presence of oxalic acid. The light absorption promotes electrons in the conduction band of the sensitizer (CuBi2O4) with a very negative potential (-1.74 VSCE) to participate in the exchange of the electron with HCrO4-. The enhanced activity is due to electron injection of activated CuBi2O4 into TiO2-CB (-0.97 VSCE). The band gap of the semiconductor CuBi2O4 is 1.50 eV with a direct optical transition. This compound is a p-type semiconductor with a flat band potential of -0.39 VSCE and activation energy of 0.18 eV. The electrochemical impedance spectroscopy was undertaken to study the semiconductor/electrolyte interfacial phenomena. The photoactivity on the heterojunction is strongly enhanced. A remarkable performance is obtained in less than 4 h for a concentration of 30 mg in (Cr (VI)) at pH ∼ 4 and a dose of 1 mg/mL; a 98% reduction has been obtained. The kinetic of chromate photoreduction is well described by the Langmuir-Hinshelwood model. The chromate elimination obeys to a pseudo-first order kinetic with an apparent rate constant of 0.014 min-1.

Superconductivity in the 2-Dimensional Homologous Series AMm Bi3 Q5+m (m=1, 2) (A=Rb, Cs; M=Pb, Sn; Q=Se, Te).

PubMed

Malliakas, Christos D; Chung, Duck Young; Claus, Helmut; Kanatzidis, Mercouri G

2018-05-17

Superconductivity in the two-dimensional AM m Bi 3 Q 5+m family of semimetals is reported. The AMBi 3 Te 6 (m=1) and AM 2 Bi 3 Te 7 (m=2) members of the homologous series with A=Rb, Cs and M=Pb, Sn undergo a bulk superconducting transition ranging from 2.7 to 1.4 K depending on the composition. The estimated superconducting volume fraction is about 90 %. Superconducting phase diagrams as a function of chemical pressure are constructed for the solid solution products of each member of the homologous series, AMBi 3-x Sb x Te 6-y Se y and AM 2 Bi 3-x Sb x Te 7-y Se y (0≤x≤3 or 0≤y≤2). The structural flexibility of the ternary AM m M' 3 Te 5+m semiconducting homology to form isostructural analogues with a variety of metals, M=Pb, Sn; M'=Bi, Sb, gives access to a large number of electronic configurations and superconductivity due to chemical pressure effects. © 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Superconductivity in strong spin orbital coupling compound Sb 2Se 3

DOE PAGES

Kong, P. P.; Sun, F.; Xing, L. Y.; ...

2014-10-20

Recently, A 2B 3 type strong spin orbital coupling compounds such as Bi 2Te 3, Bi 2Se 3 and Sb 2Te 3 were theoretically predicated to be topological insulators and demonstrated through experimental efforts. The counterpart compound Sb 2Se 3 on the other hand was found to be topological trivial, but theoretical studies indicated that the pressure might induce Sb 2Se 3 into a topological nontrivial state. We report on the discovery of superconductivity in Sb 2Se 3 single crystal induced via pressure. Our experiments indicated that Sb 2Se 3 became superconductive at high pressures above 10 GPa proceeded bymore » a pressure induced insulator to metal like transition at ~3 GPa which should be related to the topological quantum transition. The superconducting transition temperature (T C) increased to around 8.0 K with pressure up to 40 GPa while it keeps ambient structure. As a result, high pressure Raman revealed that new modes appeared around 10 GPa and 20 GPa, respectively, which correspond to occurrence of superconductivity and to the change of T C slop as the function of high pressure in conjunction with the evolutions of structural parameters at high pressures.« less

Study of magnetism in Cr doped (Bi1-xSbx)2Te3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Richardella, Anthony; Kandala, Abhinav; Kempinger, Susan; Samarth, Nitin; Grutter, Alex; Borchers, Julie

2015-03-01

The quantum anomalous Hall (QAH) effect was first observed in Cr doped films of the topological insulator (TI) (Bi1-xSbx)2Te3. This ferromagnetic TI opens a gap at the Dirac point and, when the Fermi energy lies inside this gap, a quantized QAH conductance can be observed. The origin of ferromagnetism in this material is still not well understood with the mechanism typically attributed to either a high van-Vleck susceptibility or a carrier mediated RKKY like interaction. To elucidate this we have studied Cry(Bi1-xSbx)2-yTe3 thin films grown by MBE on SrTiO3 (STO) substrates using polarized neutron reflectivity (PNR) while in-situ backgating the film to change the position of the Fermi energy. The films are also characterized by XRD, AFM, TEM and low temperature transport measurements. PNR measurements provide a direct measure of the depth dependent magnetization of a sample. We use this to study how the magnetization changes as the Fermi energy is moved towards the Dirac point. Funded by DARPA and ARO-MURI.

A new anion-deficient fluorite-related superstructure of Bi{sub 28}V{sub 8}O{sub 62}

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Đorđević, T., E-mail: tamara.djordjevic@univie.ac.at; Karanović, Lj., E-mail: ljika2002@yahoo.com

2014-12-15

New hydrothermally synthesized Bi{sub 28}V{sub 8}O{sub 62} was structurally characterized using single-crystal X-ray diffraction data. Bi{sub 28}V{sub 8}O{sub 62} crystallizes in the novel type of defect fluorite structure related to the face-centered cubic δ-Bi{sub 2}O{sub 3}. It is monoclinic, s. g. P2{sub 1}/c, and the relation to the fluorite subcell is given as a∼(3/2)a{sub F}+(3/2)c{sub F}; b∼ −b{sub F}; c∼2a{sub F} −4c{sub F} (F in subscript indicate the unit cell parameter of fluorite). Its structure is characterized by slabs of edge sharing OBi{sub 4} tetrahedra surrounded by the OBi{sub 3} triangles. As a part of these OBi{sub 3} triangles, twomore » positionally disordered Bi{sup 3+} cations were observed in the marginal part of the slabs. The slabs are extending along b axis and are linked by inter-slab portion of the structure composed of VO{sub 4} tetrahedra and BiO{sub 6−x} coordination polyhedra, where x is a number of vacant oxygen sites. Raman spectra verified the coordination environment of vanadium atoms in the structure. - Graphical abstract: The [4{sup ¯}01] projection of two slabs and inter-slab part of the structure in one layer parallel to the (3{sup ¯}08)=(002{sup ¯}){sub F} plane (F in subscript indicate a fluorite type structure). The large green circles are Bi atoms. Small blue circles represent partly and fully occupied O sites, respectively. Pink (hatched black) are V1O{sub 4} and blue (hatched white) are V2O{sub 4} coordination tetrahedra. - Highlights: • Single crystals of Bi{sub 28}V{sub 8}O{sub 62} were grown using hydrothermal technique. • The crystal structure of Bi{sub 28}V{sub 8}O{sub 62} was solved using single-crystal XRD method. • Bi{sub 28}V{sub 8}O{sub 62} has an anion-deficient fluorite-related superstructure. • Raman spectrum confirmed the coordination environment of vanadium atoms. • Relation to the structurally related compound was discussed.« less

Theory versus experiment for a family of single-layer compounds with a similar atomic arrangement: (Tl,X )/Si(111 )√{3 }×√{3 }(X =Pb,Sn,Bi,Sb,Te,Se)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matetskiy, A. V.; Kibirev, I. A.; Mihalyuk, A. N.; Eremeev, S. V.; Gruznev, D. V.; Bondarenko, L. V.; Tupchaya, A. Y.; Zotov, A. V.; Saranin, A. A.

2017-08-01

Two-dimensional compounds made of one monolayer of Tl and one-third monolayer of Pb, Bi, Te, or Se (but not of Sn or Sb) on Si(111) have been found to have a similar atomic arrangement which can be visualized as a √{3 }×√{3 } -periodic honeycomb network of chained Tl trimers with atoms of the second adsorbate occupying the centers of the honeycomb units. Structural and electronic properties of the compounds have been examined in detail theoretically using density functional theory (DFT) calculations and experimentally using low-energy electron diffraction (LEED), scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), and angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy (ARPES) observations. It has been found that though structural parameters of the compounds are very similar for all species, the only common feature of their band structure is a considerable spin-splitting of the surface-state bands, while other basic electronic properties vary greatly with a change of species. The Tl-Pb compound is strongly metallic with two metallic surface-state bands; the Tl-Bi compound is also metallic but with a single metallic band; the Tl-Te and Tl-Se compounds appear to be insulators.

Annealing effects on room temperature thermoelectric performance of p-type thermally evaporated Bi-Sb-Te thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singh, Sukhdeep; Singh, Janpreet; Tripathi, S. K.

2018-05-01

Bismuth antimony telluride (Bi-Sb-Te) compounds have been investigated for the past many decades for thermoelectric (TE) power generation and cooling purpose. We synthesized this compound with a stoichiometry Bi1.2Sb0.8Te3 through melt cool technique and thin films of as synthesized material were deposited by thermal evaporation. The prime focus of the present work is to study the influence of annealing temperature on the room temperature (RT) power factor of thin films. Electrical conductivity and Seebeck coefficient were studied and power factors were calculated which showed a peak value at 323 K. The compounds performance is comparable to some very efficient Bi-Sb-Te reported stoichiometries at RT scale. The values observed show that material has an enormous potential for energy production at ambient temperature scales.

Influence of Sn on the thermoelectric properties of (Bi{sub x}Sb{sub 1-x}){sub 2}Te{sub 3} single crystals

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kulbachinskii, V.A., E-mail: kulb@mig.phys.msu.ru; Kytin, V.G.; Kudryashov, A.A.

2012-09-15

The influence of tin on the thermoelectric properties of p-(Bi{sub x}Sb{sub 1-x}){sub 2}Te{sub 3} single crystals (x=0; 0.25; 0.5) has been investigated. The temperature dependence of the Seebeck coefficient S, the electrical conductivity {sigma}, the heat conductivity k and the thermoelectric figure of merit of p-(Bi{sub x}Sb{sub 1-x}){sub 2}Te{sub 3} single crystals were measured in the temperature range 7-300 K. By an increase the Sn content, the hole concentration increases in p-(Bi{sub x}Sb{sub 1-x}){sub 2-y}Sn{sub y}Te{sub 3}. The heat conductivity k of the p-(Bi{sub x}Sb{sub 1-x}){sub 2-y}Sn{sub y}Te{sub 3} crystals decreases due to the Sn doping, while the electrical conductivitymore » {sigma} increases in the temperature interval about 200« less

Reliable contact fabrication on nanostructured Bi2Te3-based thermoelectric materials.

PubMed

Feng, Shien-Ping; Chang, Ya-Huei; Yang, Jian; Poudel, Bed; Yu, Bo; Ren, Zhifeng; Chen, Gang

2013-05-14

A cost-effective and reliable Ni-Au contact on nanostructured Bi2Te3-based alloys for a solar thermoelectric generator (STEG) is reported. The use of MPS SAMs creates a strong covalent binding and more nucleation sites with even distribution for electroplating contact electrodes on nanostructured thermoelectric materials. A reliable high-performance flat-panel STEG can be obtained by using this new method.

Observation and Manipulation of Visible Edge Plasmons in Bi2Te3 Nanoplates.

PubMed

Lu, Xiaowei; Hao, Qunqing; Cen, Mengjia; Zhang, Guanhua; Sun, Julong; Mao, Libang; Cao, Tun; Zhou, Chuanyao; Jiang, Peng; Yang, Xueming; Bao, Xinhe

2018-05-09

Noble metals, like Ag and Au, are the most intensively studied plasmonic materials in the visible range. Plasmons in semiconductors, however, are usually believed to be in the infrared wavelength region due to the intrinsic low carrier concentrations. Herein, we observe the edge plasmon modes of Bi 2 Te 3 , a narrow-band gap semiconductor, in the visible spectral range using photoemission electron microscopy (PEEM). The Bi 2 Te 3 nanoplates excited by 400 nm femtosecond laser pulses exhibit strong photoemission intensities along the edges, which follow a cos 4 dependence on the polarization state of incident beam. Because of the phase retardation effect, plasmonic response along different edges can be selectively exited. The thickness-dependent photoemission intensities exclude the spin-orbit induced surface states as the origin of these plasmonic modes. Instead, we propose that the interband transition-induced nonequilibrium carriers might play a key role. Our results not only experimentally demonstrate the possibility of visible plasmons in semiconducting materials but also open up a new avenue for exploring the optical properties of topological insulator materials using PEEM.

Bi2Te3 based passively Q-switched at 1042.76 and 1047 nm wavelength

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Salim, M. A. M.; Shaharuddin, R. A.; Ismail, M. A.; Harun, S. W.; Ahmad, H.; Azzuhri, Saaidal R.

2017-12-01

In this paper, we propose and demonstrate the generation of dual wavelength based photonic crystal fiber passively Q-switched using few-layer TI:Bi2Te3 (bismuth telluride) saturable absorbers in a 1 micron waveband. The system employs a few-layer bismuth, induced onto a fiber ferrule using a dry oven method. A centered dual-wavelength output at 1042.76 and 1047.0 nm was produced from the Ytterbium doped fiber laser setup by incorporating 10 cm of photonic crystal fiber and finely adjusting the polarization controller. The self-started Q-switch had a pump power of 132.15 mW and a frequency ranging from 3.79 to 15.63 kHz. Therefore, TI:Bi2Te3 was suitable as a potential broadband SA in a 1 micron region.

Thermal Stability of Zone Melting p-Type (Bi, Sb)2Te3 Ingots and Comparison with the Corresponding Powder Metallurgy Samples

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, Chengpeng; Fan, Xi'an; Hu, Jie; Feng, Bo; Xiang, Qiusheng; Li, Guangqiang; Li, Yawei; He, Zhu

2018-04-01

During the past few decades, Bi2Te3-based alloys have been investigated extensively because of their promising application in the area of low temperature waste heat thermoelectric power generation. However, their thermal stability must be evaluated to explore the appropriate service temperature. In this work, the thermal stability of zone melting p-type (Bi, Sb)2Te3-based ingots was investigated under different annealing treatment conditions. The effect of service temperature on the thermoelectric properties and hardness of the samples was also discussed in detail. The results showed that the grain size, density, dimension size and mass remained nearly unchanged when the service temperature was below 523 K, which suggested that the geometry size of zone melting p-type (Bi, Sb)2Te3-based materials was stable below 523 K. The power factor and Vickers hardness of the ingots also changed little and maintained good thermal stability. Unfortunately, the thermal conductivity increased with increasing annealing temperature, which resulted in an obvious decrease of the zT value. In addition, the thermal stabilities of the zone melting p-type (Bi, Sb)2Te3-based materials and the corresponding powder metallurgy samples were also compared. All evidence implied that the thermal stabilities of the zone-melted (ZMed) p-type (Bi, Sb)2Te3 ingots in terms of crystal structure, geometry size, power factor (PF) and hardness were better than those of the corresponding powder metallurgy samples. However, their thermal stabilities in terms of zT values were similar under different annealing temperatures.

Thermoelectric properties of Co₄Sb₁₂ with Bi₂Te₃ nanoinclusions.

PubMed

Ghosh, Sanyukta; Bisht, Anuj; Karati, Anirudha; Rogl, Gerda; Rogl, Peter F; Murty, B S; Suwas, Satyam; Mallik, Ramesh Chandra

2018-01-08

The figure of merit (zT) of a thermoelectric material can be enhanced by incorporation of nanoinclusions into bulk material. The presence of bismuth telluride (Bi2Te3) nanoinclusions in Co4Sb12 leads to lower phonon thermal conductivity by introducing interfaces and defects; it enhances the average zT between 300-700 K. In the current study, Bi2Te3 nanoparticles were dispersed into bulk Co4Sb12 by ball-milling. The bulk was fabricated by spark plasma sintering (SPS). The presence of Bi2Te3 dispersion in Co4Sb12 was confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and electron back scattered diffraction (EBSD) technique. Energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) showed antimony (Sb) as an impurity phase for higher contents of Bi2Te3 in the sample. The Seebeck coefficient (S) and electrical conductivity () were measured in the temperature range of 350 - 673 K. The negative value of S indicates that most of the charge carriers were electrons. A decrease in S and increase in with Bi2Te3 content are due to the increased carrier concentration, as confirmed by Hall measurement. The thermal conductivity, measured between 423 - 673 K, decreased due to the increased phonon scattering at interfaces. A maximum zT of 0.17 was achieved at 523 K and it did not vary much throughout the temperature range. The experimental results of composites were compared by using effective medium theories. © 2018 IOP Publishing Ltd.

Electronic spectrum of non-tetrahedral acceptors in CdTe:Cl and CdTe:Bi,Cl single crystals

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Krivobok, V. S., E-mail: krivobok@lebedev.ru; Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology; Nikolaev, S. N.

2016-02-07

The electronic spectra of complex acceptors in compensated CdTe:Cl, CdTe:Ag,Cl, and CdTe:Bi,Cl single crystals are studied using low-temperature photoluminescence (PL) measurements under both nonresonant and resonant excitation of distant donor–acceptor pairs (DAP). The wavelength modulation of the excitation source combined with the analysis of the differential PL signal is used to enhance narrow spectral features obscured because of inhomogeneous line broadening and/or excitation transfer for selectively excited DAPs. For the well-known tetrahedral (T{sub D}) Ag{sub Cd} acceptor, the energies of four excited states are measured, and the values obtained are shown to be in perfect agreement with the previous data.more » Moreover, splitting between the 2P{sub 3/2} (Γ{sub 8}) and 2S{sub 3/2} (Γ{sub 8}) states is clearly observed for Ag{sub Cd} centers located at a short distance (5–7 nm) from a hydrogen-like donor (Cl{sub Te}). This splitting results from the reduction of the T{sub D} symmetry taking place when the acceptor is a member of a donor–acceptor pair. For the Cl-related complex acceptor with an activation energy of ∼121 meV (A-center), the energies of eight excited states are measured. It is shown that this defect produces low-symmetry central-cell correction responsible for the strong splitting of S-like T{sub D} shells. The energy spectrum of the Bi-related shallow acceptor with an activation energy of ∼36 meV is measured as well. The spectrum obtained differs drastically from the hydrogen-like set of levels, which indicates the existence of repulsive low-symmetry perturbation of the hydrogen-like Coulomb potential. It is also shown that the spectra of selectively excited PL recorded for a macroscopic ensemble of distant donor–acceptor pairs allow one to detect the low symmetry of acceptors of a given type caused by their complex nature or by the Jahn–Teller distortion. This method does not require any additional (external) field

Thermoelectric Properties of Cu-Doped n-Type Bi2Te2.85Se0.15 Prepared by Liquid Phase Growth Using a Sliding Boat

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kitagawa, Hiroyuki; Matsuura, Tsukasa; Kato, Toshihito; Kamata, Kin-ya

2015-06-01

N-type Bi2Te2.85Se0.15 thermoelectric materials were prepared by liquid phase growth (LPG) using a sliding boat, a simple and short fabrication process for Bi2Te3-related materials. Cu was selected as a donor dopant, and its effect on thermoelectric properties was investigated. Thick sheets and bars of Cu x Bi2 Te2.85Se0.15 ( x=0-0.25) of 1-2mm in thickness were obtained using the process. X-ray diffraction patterns and scanning electron micrographs showed that the in-plane direction tended to correspond to the hexagonal c-plane, which is the preferred direction for thermoelectric conversion. Cu-doping was effective in controlling conduction type and carrier (electron) concentration. The conduction type was p-type for undoped Bi2Te2.85Se0.15 and became n-type after Cu-doping. The Hall carrier concentration was increased by Cu-doping. Small resistivity was achieved in Cu0.02Bi2Te2.85Se0.15 owing to an optimized amount of Cu-doping and high crystal orientation. As a result, the maximum power factor near 310K for Cu0.02Bi2Te2.85Se0.15 was approximately 4×10-3W/K2m and had good reproducibility. Furthermore, the thermal stability of Cu0.02Bi2Te2.85Se0.15 was also confirmed by thermal cycling measurements of electrical resistivity. Thus, n-type Bi2Te2.85Se0.15 with a large power factor was prepared using the present LPG process.

The electronic structure and thermoelectric properties of BiTl{sub 9}Te{sub 6} and SbTl{sub 9}Te{sub 6}: First-principles calculations

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Guo, Li Bin; Ye, Lingyun; Wang, Yuan Xu, E-mail: wangyx@henu.edu.cn

2015-12-21

The electronic structure and thermoelectric properties of MTl{sub 9}Te{sub 6} (M = Bi, Sb) were studied using density functional theory and the semiclassical Boltzmann theory. It is found that the band gaps of BiTl{sub 9}Te{sub 6} and SbTl{sub 9}Te{sub 6} are equal to 0.59 eV and 0.72 eV, respectively. The relative large band gap and strong coupling between Sb s and Te p are helpful to the thermoelectric properties of SbTl{sub 9}Te{sub 6}. Near the bottom of the conduction bands, the number of band valleys of SbTl{sub 9}Te{sub 6} is four and is larger than that of BiTl{sub 9}Te{sub 6} (two band valleys),more » which will increase its Seebeck coefficient. Although BiTl{sub 9}Te{sub 6} has a larger electrical conductivity relative to relaxation time (σ/τ) along the z-direction than that of SbTl{sub 9}Te{sub 6}, the results show that the transport properties of SbTl{sub 9}Te{sub 6} are better than those of BiTl{sub 9}Te{sub 6} possibly due to its large Seebeck coefficient. The maximum value of power factor relative to relaxation time (S{sup 2}σ/τ) for SbTl{sub 9}Te{sub 6} reaches 4.30 × 10{sup 11 }W/K{sup 2} m s at 900 K, that is, originated from its relatively large Seebeck coefficient, suggesting its promising thermoelectric performance at high temperature.« less

High potential thermoelectric figure of merit in ternary La 3Cu 3X 4 (X = P, As, Sb and Bi) compounds

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pandey, Tribhuwan; Parker, David S.

Here, we investigate the thermoelectric properties of the relatively unexplored rare-earth ternary compounds La 3Cu 3X 4 (X= Bi, Sb, As, and P) using first principles electronic structure and Boltzmann transport calculations. These compounds, of which the La 3Cu 3Sb 4 and La 3Cu 3Bi 4 compounds have previously been synthesized, are all predicted to semiconductors and present a wide range of band gaps varying from 0.23 eV (for the Bi compound) to 0.87 eV (for the P compound). We further find a mixture of light and heavy bands, which results in a high thermoelectric power factor. In addition wemore » find that at high temperatures of 1000 K these compounds exhibit lattice thermal conductivity less than 1 W/m-K. The combination of low thermal conductivity and good transport properties results in a predicted ZT as high as ~1.5 for both La 3Cu 3P 4 and La 3Cu 3As 4, under high p-type doping. This predicted high performance makes these compounds promising candidates for high performance thermoelectric performance and thus merits further experimental investigation.« less

High potential thermoelectric figure of merit in ternary La 3Cu 3X 4 (X = P, As, Sb and Bi) compounds

DOE PAGES

Pandey, Tribhuwan; Parker, David S.

2017-10-27

Here, we investigate the thermoelectric properties of the relatively unexplored rare-earth ternary compounds La 3Cu 3X 4 (X= Bi, Sb, As, and P) using first principles electronic structure and Boltzmann transport calculations. These compounds, of which the La 3Cu 3Sb 4 and La 3Cu 3Bi 4 compounds have previously been synthesized, are all predicted to semiconductors and present a wide range of band gaps varying from 0.23 eV (for the Bi compound) to 0.87 eV (for the P compound). We further find a mixture of light and heavy bands, which results in a high thermoelectric power factor. In addition wemore » find that at high temperatures of 1000 K these compounds exhibit lattice thermal conductivity less than 1 W/m-K. The combination of low thermal conductivity and good transport properties results in a predicted ZT as high as ~1.5 for both La 3Cu 3P 4 and La 3Cu 3As 4, under high p-type doping. This predicted high performance makes these compounds promising candidates for high performance thermoelectric performance and thus merits further experimental investigation.« less

Microstructure and phase composition of hypoeutectic Te-Bi alloy as evaporation source for photoelectric cathode

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Bao-guang; Yang, Wen-hui; Gao, Hong-ye; Tian, Wen-huai

2018-05-01

A hypoeutectic 60Te-40Bi alloy in mass percent was designed as a tellurium atom evaporation source instead of pure tellurium for an ultraviolet detection photocathode. The alloy was prepared by slow solidification at about 10-2 K·s-1. The microstructure, crystal structure, chemical composition, and crystallographic orientation of each phase in the as-prepared alloy were investigated by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, electron backscatter diffraction, and transmission electron microscopy. The experimental results suggest that the as-prepared 60Te-40Bi alloy consists of primary Bi2Te3 and eutectic Bi2Te3/Te phases. The primary Bi2Te3 phase has the characteristics of faceted growth. The eutectic Bi2Te3 phase is encased by the eutectic Te phase in the eutectic structure. The purity of the eutectic Te phase reaches 100wt% owing to the slow solidification. In the eutectic phases, the crystallographic orientation relationship between Bi2Te3 and Te is confirmed as {[0001]_{B{i_2}T{e_3}}}//{[1\\bar 21\\bar 3]_{Te}} and the direction of Te phase parallel to {[11\\bar 20]_{B{i_2}T{e_3}}} is deviated by 18° from Te N{(2\\bar 1\\bar 11)_{Te}}.

A new V-doped Bi2(O,S)3 oxysulfide catalyst for highly efficient catalytic reduction of 2-nitroaniline and organic dyes.

PubMed

Abay, Angaw Kelemework; Kuo, Dong-Hau; Chen, Xiaoyun; Saragih, Albert Daniel

2017-12-01

A new type of convenient, and environmentally friendly, Vanadium (V)-doped Bi 2 (O,S) 3 oxysulfide catalyst with different V contents was successfully synthesized via a simple and facile method. The obtained V-doped Bi 2 (O,S) 3 solid solution catalysts were fully characterized by conventional methods. The catalytic performance of the samples was tested by using the reduction of 2-nitroaniline (2-NA) in aqueous solution. The reduction/decolorization of methylene blue (MB) and rhodamine B (RhB) was also chosen to evaluate the universality of catalysts. It was observed that the introduction of V can improve the catalytic performance, and 20%V-Bi 2 (O,S) 3 was found to be the optimal V doping concentration for the reduction of 2-NA, MB, and RhB dyes. For comparative purposes, a related V-free Bi 2 (O, S) 3 oxysulfide material was synthesized and tested as the catalyst. The superior activity of V-doped Bi 2 (O,S) 3 over pure Bi 2 (O,S) 3 was ascribed mainly to an increase in active sites of the material and also due to the presence of synergistic effects. The presence of V 5+ as found from XPS analysis may interact with Bi atoms and enhancing the catalytic activity of the sample. In the catalytic reduction of 2-NA, MB and RhB, the obtained V-doped Bi 2 (O,S) 3 oxysulfide catalyst exhibited excellent catalytic activity as compared with other reported catalysts. Furthermore this highly efficient, low-cost and easily reusable V-doped Bi 2 (O,S) 3 catalyst is anticipated to be of great potential in catalysis in the future. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Maximizing the thermoelectric performance of topological insulator Bi2Te3 films in the few-quintuple layer regime

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liang, Jinghua; Cheng, Long; Zhang, Jie; Liu, Huijun; Zhang, Zhenyu

2016-04-01

Using first-principles calculations and the Boltzmann theory, we explore the feasibility to maximize the thermoelectric figure of merit (ZT) of topological insulator Bi2Te3 films in the few-quintuple layer regime. We discover that the delicate competitions between the surface and bulk contributions, coupled with the overall quantum size effects, lead to a novel and generic non-monotonous dependence of ZT on the film thickness. In particular, when the system crosses into the topologically non-trivial regime upon increasing the film thickness, the much longer surface relaxation time associated with the robust nature of the topological surface states results in a maximal ZT value, which can be further optimized to ~2.0 under physically realistic conditions. We also reveal the appealing potential of bridging the long-standing ZT asymmetry of p- and n-type Bi2Te3 systems.Using first-principles calculations and the Boltzmann theory, we explore the feasibility to maximize the thermoelectric figure of merit (ZT) of topological insulator Bi2Te3 films in the few-quintuple layer regime. We discover that the delicate competitions between the surface and bulk contributions, coupled with the overall quantum size effects, lead to a novel and generic non-monotonous dependence of ZT on the film thickness. In particular, when the system crosses into the topologically non-trivial regime upon increasing the film thickness, the much longer surface relaxation time associated with the robust nature of the topological surface states results in a maximal ZT value, which can be further optimized to ~2.0 under physically realistic conditions. We also reveal the appealing potential of bridging the long-standing ZT asymmetry of p- and n-type Bi2Te3 systems. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c6nr00724d

Induced unconventional superconductivity on the surface states of Bi2Te3 topological insulator.

PubMed

Charpentier, Sophie; Galletti, Luca; Kunakova, Gunta; Arpaia, Riccardo; Song, Yuxin; Baghdadi, Reza; Wang, Shu Min; Kalaboukhov, Alexei; Olsson, Eva; Tafuri, Francesco; Golubev, Dmitry; Linder, Jacob; Bauch, Thilo; Lombardi, Floriana

2017-12-08

Topological superconductivity is central to a variety of novel phenomena involving the interplay between topologically ordered phases and broken-symmetry states. The key ingredient is an unconventional order parameter, with an orbital component containing a chiral p x  + ip y wave term. Here we present phase-sensitive measurements, based on the quantum interference in nanoscale Josephson junctions, realized by using Bi 2 Te 3 topological insulator. We demonstrate that the induced superconductivity is unconventional and consistent with a sign-changing order parameter, such as a chiral p x  + ip y component. The magnetic field pattern of the junctions shows a dip at zero externally applied magnetic field, which is an incontrovertible signature of the simultaneous existence of 0 and π coupling within the junction, inherent to a non trivial order parameter phase. The nano-textured morphology of the Bi 2 Te 3 flakes, and the dramatic role played by thermal strain are the surprising key factors for the display of an unconventional induced order parameter.

Intrinsic Topological Insulator Bi1.5Sb0.5Te3-xSex Thin Crystals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Wei; Li, Li; Zou, Wenqin; He, Liang; Song, Fengqi; Zhang, Rong; Wu, Xiaoshan; Zhang, Fengming

2015-01-01

The quaternary topological insulator (Bi,Sb)2(Te,Se)3 has demonstrated topological surface states with an insulating bulk. Scientists have identified an optimized composition of Bi1.5Sb0.5Te1.7Se1.3 with the highest resistivity reported. But the physics that drive to this composition remains unclear. Here we report the crystal structure and the magneto-transport properties of Bi1.5Sb0.5Te3-xSex (BSTS) series. A correlation between the structure and the physical properties has been revealed. We found out that within the rhombohedral structure, the composition with most Te substituting Se has the highest resistivity. On the other hand, segregation of other composition phases will introduce much higher bulk concentration.

The Shubnikov-de Haas effect and thermoelectric properties of Tl-doped Sb{sub 2}Te{sub 3} and Bi{sub 2}Se{sub 3}

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kulbachinskii, V. A., E-mail: kulb@mig.phys.msu.ru; Kudryashov, A. A.; Kytin, V. G.

2015-06-15

The influence of doping with Tl on the Shubnikov-de Haas effect at T = 4.2 K in magnetic fields up to 38 T in p-Sb{sub 2−x}Tl{sub x}Te{sub 3} (x = 0, 0.005, 0.015, and 0.05) and n-Bi{sub 2−x}Tl{sub x}Se{sub 3} (x = 0, 0.01, 0.02, 0.04, and 0.06) single crystals is investigated. Extreme cross-sections of the Fermi surface in both materials decrease upon doping with Tl: the hole concentration decreases in Sb{sub 2−x}Tl{sub x}Te{sub 3} due to the donor effect of Tl and the electron concentration in n-Bi{sub 2−x}Tl{sub x}Se{sub 3} decreases due to the acceptor effect of Tl. Themore » temperature dependences of the Seebeck coefficient, electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and dimensionless thermoelectric figure of merit in a temperature range of 77–300 K are measured. The thermal conductivity and electrical conductivity decrease upon doping with Tl both in p-Sb{sub 2−x}Tl{sub x}Te{sub 3} and in n-Bi{sub 2−x}Tl{sub x}Se{sub 3}. The Seebeck coefficient increases in all compositions upon an increase in doping over the entire measured temperature range. The thermoelectric figure of merit increases upon doping with Tl.« less

High-temperature specific heat of Bi2GeO5 and SmBiGeO5 compounds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Denisova, L. T.; Belousova, N. V.; Galiakhmetova, N. A.; Denisov, V. M.; Zhereb, V. P.

2017-08-01

The SmBiGeO5 compound is synthesized from Sm2O3, Bi2O3, and GeO2 by solid-state synthesis with subsequent annealing at 1003, 1073, 1123, 1143, 1173, and 1223 K. The metastable Bi2GeO5 compound is prepared from melt. Temperature dependences of specific heat of Bi2GeO5 (350-1000 K) and SmBiGeO5 (370-1000 K) are measured by differential scanning calorimetry. Basing on the experimental dependences C P = f( T), the thermodynamic functions of the oxide compounds are calculated.

Hydrothermal synthesis of Bi2WO6 and photocatalytic reduction of aqueous Cr(VI) under visible light irradiation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Jing; Shi, Qingzhu; Chen, Yan; Song, Ming

2017-12-01

Bi2WO6 was synthesized via a facile hydrothermal method using different inorganic acid or alkali varied pH of the solution at 180℃ for 12 h, and characterized by X-ray diffraction, FESEM and photocurrent. Furthermore, the photocatalytic activity of Bi2WO6 was investigated in the reduction of aqueous Cr(VI) under visible light (λ > 420 nm) irradiation. As a result, assynthesized Bi2WO6 was an orthorhombic phase, and well-crystallized with 3D hierarchical structure constructed by arranged 2D layers of nanoplates. All the as-synthesized Bi2WO6 exhibited the visible light photocatalytic activities on aqueous Cr(VI), and Bi2WO6-(2) exhibited the highest photocatalytic reduction efficiency based on much higher separation and transfer efficiency of photogenerated electrons and holes.

Constructing nanoporous carbon nanotubes/Bi2Te3 composite for synchronous regulation of the electrical and thermal performances

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Qihao; Xu, Leilei; Zhou, Zhenxing; Wang, Lianjun; Jiang, Wan; Chen, Lidong

2017-02-01

Porous nanograined thermoelectric materials exhibit low thermal conductivity due to scattering of phonons by pores, which are favorable for thermoelectric applications. However, the benefit is not large enough to overcome the deficiency in the electrical performance. Herein, an approach is presented to reduce the thermal conductivity and synchronously enhance the electrical conductivity through constructing a nanoporous thermoelectric composite. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are truncated and homogeneously dispersed within the Bi2Te3 matrix by a cryogenic grinding (CG) technique for the first time, which efficiently suppress the Bi2Te3 grain growth and create nanopores with the size ranging from dozens to hundreds of nanometers. The lattice thermal conductivity is substantially decreased by broad wavelength phonon scattering resulting from nanopores, increased grain boundaries, and newly formed interfaces. Meanwhile, the electrical conductivity is improved due to the enhanced carrier mobility, which may originate from the bridging effect between the Bi2Te3 grains and CNTs. The maximum ZT is improved by almost a factor of 2 due to the simultaneous optimization of electrical and thermal performances. Our study demonstrates the superiority of constructing a bulk thermoelectric composite with nanopores by the uniform dispersion of CNTs through a CG technique for enhanced thermoelectric properties, which provides a wider approach to thermoelectric nanostructure engineering.

Optical transitions of Er3+/Yb3+ codoped TeO2-WO3-Bi2O3 glass.

PubMed

Shen, Xiang; Nie, Qiuhua; Xu, Tiefeng; Gao, Yuan

2005-10-01

Optical absorption and emission properties of the Er3+/Yb3+ codoped TeO2-WO3-Bi2O3 (TWB) glass has been investigated. The transition probabilities, excited state lifetimes, and the branching ratios have been predicted for Er3+ based on the Judd-Ofelt theory. The broad 1.5 microm fluorescence was observed under 970 nm excitation, and its full width at half maximum (FWHM) is 77 nm. The emission cross-section is calculated using the McCumber theory, and the peak emission cross-section is 1.03 x 10(-21) cm2 at 1.531 microm. This value is much larger than those of the silicate and phosphate glasses. Efficient green and weak red upconversion luminescence from Er3+ centers in the glass sample was observed at room temperature, and the upconversion excitation processes have been analyzed.

Microwave-assisted Bi2Se3 nanoparticles using various organic solvents

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vijila, J. Joy Jeba; Mohanraj, K.; Henry, J.; Sivakumar, G.

2016-01-01

Microwave assisted Bi2Se3 nanoparticles were synthesized from five different solvents DMF, EG, EG + H2O, EDA + dil.HNO3 and N2H4 + H2O + Ethanol. The influence of solvents on purity of the compound was analysed by using X-ray diffraction patterns. The result indicates pure rhombohedral Bi2Se3 nanoparticles formed for N2H4 + H2O + Ethanol. The presence of vibrational bands in the range of 400-800 cm- 1 is confirmed the formation of Bi2Se3. The maximum optical absorption observed around 450 nm and the band gap values are found in the range of 1.5 eV-2.17 eV for all the solvents. The nanostructure of the Bi2Se3 particles change with solvents. From the experimental results, the solvent N2H4 + H2O + Ethanol produces pure nanosize Bi2Se3 particles under the microwave assisted method.

2 TeV HEB beam abort at the SSCL

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Schailey, R.; Bull, J.; Clayton, T.

1993-05-01

The High Energy Booster (HEB) of the Superconducting Super Collider Laboratory (SSCL) will require a full aperture beam abort over a dynamic energy range of 200 GeV to 2 TeV. Since the HEB is a bi-polar machine, both clockwise (CW) and the counter-clockwise (CCW) beam aborts are required. Also, the stored beam energy of 6.55 MJ in the superconducting HEB imposes upon the full aperture requirement. In this report, we describe the abort channels in the HEB utility straight sections, aperture restrictions, mechanical interferences and solutions, kicker misfires, and a 1 TeV beam absorber.

Effect of polarizable lone pair cations on the second-harmonic generation (SHG) properties of noncentrosymmetric (NCS) Bi(2-x)Y(x)TeO₅ (x = 0-0.2).

PubMed

Jo, Hongil; Kim, Yeong Hun; Lee, Dong Woo; Ok, Kang Min

2014-08-14

Y(3+)-doped noncentrosymmetric (NCS) bismuth tellurite materials, Bi(2-x)Y(x)TeO5 (x = 0, 0.1, and 0.2), have been synthesized through standard solid-state reactions and structurally characterized by powder neutron diffraction. The reported NCS materials crystallize in the orthorhombic space group Abm2 (no. 39), and exhibit pseudo-three-dimensional frameworks that are composed of BiO3, BiO5, and TeO3 polyhedra. Detailed diffraction studies show that the cell volume of Bi(2-x)Y(x)TeO5 decreases with an increasing amount of Y(3+)on the Bi(3+) sites. However, no ordering between Bi(3+) and Y(3+) was observed in the Bi(2-x)Y(x)TeO5. Powder second-harmonic generation (SHG) measurements, using 1064 nm radiation, reveal that Bi2TeO5, Bi(1.9)Y(0.1)TeO5, and Bi(1.8)Y(0.2)TeO5 exhibit SHG efficiencies of approximately 300, 200, and 60 times that of α-SiO2, respectively. The reduction in SHG for Y(3+)-doped materials is consistent with the lack of net moment originating from polyhedra with a polarizable Bi(3+) cation.

Work function of bulk-insulating topological insulator Bi{sub 2–x}Sb{sub x}Te{sub 3–y}Se{sub y}

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Takane, Daichi; Souma, Seigo; Center for Spintronics Research Network, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8577

Recent discovery of bulk insulating topological insulator (TI) Bi{sub 2–x}Sb{sub x}Te{sub 3–y}Se{sub y} paved a pathway toward practical device application of TIs. For realizing TI-based devices, it is necessary to contact TIs with a metal. Since the band-bending at the interface dominates the character of devices, knowledge of TIs' work function is of essential importance. We have determined the compositional dependence of the work function in Bi{sub 2–x}Sb{sub x}Te{sub 3–y}Se{sub y} by high-resolution photoemission spectroscopy. The obtained work-function values (4.95–5.20 eV) track the energy shift of the surface chemical potential seen by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. The present result serves as amore » useful guide for developing TI-based electronic devices.« less

Resonant magneto-optic Kerr effect in the magnetic topological insulator Cr:(Sb x,Bi 1–x) 2Te 3

DOE PAGES

Patankar, Shreyas; Hinton, J. P.; Griesmar, Joel; ...

2015-12-31

Here, we report measurements of the polar Kerr effect, proportional to the out-of-plane component of the magnetization, in thin films of the magnetically doped topological insulator (Cr 0.12Bi 0.26Sb 0.62) 2Te 3. Measurements of the complex Kerr angle ΘK were performed as a function of photon energy in the range 0.8eV < ℏω < 3.0eV. We observed a peak in the real part of Θ K(ω) and zero crossing in the imaginary part that we attribute to a resonant interaction with a spin-orbit avoided crossing located ≈ 1.6 eV above the Fermi energy. The resonant enhancement allows measurement of themore » temperature and magnetic field dependence of Θ K in the ultrathin film limit, d ≥ 2 quintuple layers (QL). We find a sharp transition to zero remanent magnetization at 6 K for d < 8 QL, consistent with theories of the dependence of impurity spin interactions on film thickness and their location relative to topological insulator surfaces.« less

Effect of thallium doping on the mobility of electrons in Bi{sub 2}Se{sub 3} and holes in Sb{sub 2}Te{sub 3}

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kudryashov, A. A.; Kytin, V. G.; Lunin, R. A.

2016-07-15

The Shubnikov–de Haas effect and the Hall effect in n-Bi{sub 2–x}Tl{sub x}Se{sub 3} (x = 0, 0.01, 0.02, 0.04) and p-Sb{sub 2–x}Tl{sub x}Te{sub 3} (x = 0, 0.005, 0.015, 0.05) single crystals are studied. The carrier mobilities and their changes upon Tl doping are calculated by the Fourier spectra of oscillations. It is found shown that Tl doping decreases the electron concentration in n-Bi{sub 2–x}Tl{sub x}Se{sub 3} and increases the electron mobility. In p-Sb{sub 2–x}Tl{sub x}Te{sub 3}, both the hole concentration and mobility decrease upon Tl doping. The change in the crystal defect concentration, which leads to these effects, ismore » discussed.« less

Thermodynamic Properties of AgIn2Te3I and AgIn2Te3Br, Determined by EMF Method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moroz, M. V.; Prokhorenko, M. V.; Prokhorenko, S. V.; Yatskov, M. V.; Reshetnyak, O. V.

2018-01-01

Differential thermal analysis (DTA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and electromotive force (EMF) are used to triangulate Ag-In-Te-I(Br) systems in the vicinity of compounds AgIn2Te3I and AgIn2Te3Br. The three-dimensional position of the AgIn2Te3I-InTe-Ag2Te-AgI and AgIn2Te3Br-InTe-Ag3TeBr phase areas with respect to the figurative points of silver is used to create equations of potential-determining chemical reactions. The potential-determining reactions are conducted in (-)C|Ag|Ag3GeS3I(Br) glass|D|C(+) electrochemical cells (ECCs), where C stands for inert (graphite) electrodes, Ag and D are ECC electrodes (D denotes alloys of one-, three-, and four-phase areas), and Ag3GeS3I and Ag3GeS3Br glasses are membranes with purely ionic Ag+ conductivity. Linear parts of the temperature dependences of the cell EMFs are used to calculate the standard integral thermodynamic functions of saturated solid solutions based on AgIn2Te3I and AgIn2Te3Br, and the relative partial thermodynamic functions of silver in the stoichiometric quaternary compounds.

Bandgap modulation in photoexcited topological insulator Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} via atomic displacements

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hada, Masaki, E-mail: hadamasaki@okayama-u.ac.jp; Materials and Structures Laboratory, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Yokohama 226-8503; PRESTO, Japan Science and Technology Agency, Kawaguchi 332-0012

2016-07-14

The atomic and electronic dynamics in the topological insulator (TI) Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} under strong photoexcitation were characterized with time-resolved electron diffraction and time-resolved mid-infrared spectroscopy. Three-dimensional TIs characterized as bulk insulators with an electronic conduction surface band have shown a variety of exotic responses in terms of electronic transport when observed under conditions of applied pressure, magnetic field, or circularly polarized light. However, the atomic motions and their correlation between electronic systems in TIs under strong photoexcitation have not been explored. The artificial and transient modification of the electronic structures in TIs via photoinduced atomic motions represents a novelmore » mechanism for providing a comparable level of bandgap control. The results of time-domain crystallography indicate that photoexcitation induces two-step atomic motions: first bismuth and then tellurium center-symmetric displacements. These atomic motions in Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} trigger 10% bulk bandgap narrowing, which is consistent with the time-resolved mid-infrared spectroscopy results.« less

Chemical potential fluctuations in topological insulator (Bi0.5Sb0.5)2Te3-films visualized by photocurrent spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kastl, Christoph; Seifert, Paul; He, Xiaoyue; Wu, Kehui; Li, Yongqing; Holleitner, Alexander

2015-06-01

We investigate the photocurrent properties of the topological insulator (Bi0.5Sb0.5)2Te3 on SrTiO3-substrates. We find reproducible, submicron photocurrent patterns generated by long-range chemical potential fluctuations, occurring predominantly at the topological insulator/substrate interface. We fabricate nano-plowed constrictions which comprise single potential fluctuations. Hereby, we can quantify the magnitude of the disorder potential to be in the meV range. The results further suggest a dominating photo-thermoelectric current generated in the surface states in such nanoscale constrictions.

Cs2Bi(PO4)(WO4)

PubMed Central

Terebilenko, Kateryna V.; Zatovsky, Igor V.; Baumer, Vyacheslav N.; Slobodyanik, Nikolay S.

2009-01-01

Dicaesium bis­muth(III) phosphate(V) tungstate(VI), Cs2Bi(PO4)(WO4), has been synthesized during complex investigation in a molten pseudo-quaternary Cs2O–Bi2O3–P2O5–WO3 system. It is isotypic with K2Bi(PO4)(WO4). The three-dimensional framework is built up from [Bi(PO4)(WO4)] nets, which are organized by adhesion of [BiPO4] layers and [WO4] tetra­hedra above and below of those layers. The inter­stitial space is occupied by Cs atoms. Bi, W and P atoms lie on crystallographic twofold axes. PMID:21577386

Fe-Doping Effect on Thermoelectric Properties of p-Type Bi0.48Sb1.52Te3

PubMed Central

Mun, Hyeona; Lee, Kyu Hyoung; Kim, Suk Jun; Kim, Jong-Young; Lee, Jeong Hoon; Lim, Jae-Hong; Park, Hee Jung; Roh, Jong Wook; Kim, Sung Wng

2015-01-01

The substitutional doping approach has been shown to be an effective strategy to improve ZT of Bi2Te3-based thermoelectric raw materials. We herein report the Fe-doping effects on electronic and thermal transport properties of polycrystalline bulks of p-type Bi0.48Sb1.52Te3. After a small amount of Fe-doping on Bi/Sb-sites, the power factor could be enhanced due to the optimization of carrier concentration. Additionally, lattice thermal conductivity was reduced by the intensified point-defect phonon scattering originating from the mass difference between the host atoms (Bi/Sb) and dopants (Fe). An enhanced ZT of 1.09 at 300 K was obtained in 1.0 at% Fe-doped Bi0.48Sb1.52Te3 by these synergetic effects. PMID:28787981

High field (up to 140 kOe) angle dependent magneto transport of Bi2Te3 single crystals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sultana, Rabia; Maheshwari, P. K.; Tiwari, Brajesh; Awana, V. P. S.

2018-01-01

We report the angle dependent high field (up to 140 kOe) magneto transport of Bi2Te3 single crystals, a well-known topological insulator. The crystals were grown from melt of constituent elements via solid state reaction route by self-flux method. Details of crystal growth along with their brief characterisation up to 5 Tesla applied field was reported by some of us recently (Sultana et al 2017 J. Magn. Magn. Mater. 428 213). The angle dependence of the magneto-resistance (MR) of Bi2Te3 follows the cos (θ) function i.e., MR is responsive, when the applied field is perpendicular (tilt angle θ = 0° and/or 180°) to the transport current. The low field (±10 kOe) MR showed the signatures of weak anti localisation character with typical ν-type cusp near origin at 5 K. Further, the MR is linear right up to highest applied field of 140 kOe. The large positive MR are observed up to high temperatures and are above 250% and 150% at 140 kOe in perpendicular fields at 50 K and 100 K respectively. Heat capacity C P(T) measurements revealed the value of Debye temperature (ѲD) to be 135 K. Angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy data clearly showed that the bulk Bi2Te3 single crystal consists of a single Dirac cone.

The Aharonov-Bohm oscillation in the BiSbTe3 topological insulator macroflake

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Shiu-Ming; Wang, Pin-Chun; Lin, Chien; You, Sheng-Yu; Lin, Wei-Cheng; Lin, Lin-Jie; Yan, You-Jhih; Yu, Shih-Hsun; Chou, M. C.

2018-05-01

We report the Aharonov-Bohm (AB) oscillation in the BiSbTe3 topological insulator macroflake. The magnetoresistance reveals periodic oscillations. The oscillation index number reveals the Berry phase is π which supports the oscillation originates from the surface state. The AB oscillation frequency increases as temperature decreases, and the corresponding phase coherence length is consistent with that extracted from the weak antilocalization. The phase coherence length is proportional to T-1/2. The magnetoresistance ratio reaches 700% (1000%) at 9 T (14 T) and 2 K, and it is proportional to the carrier mobility. The magnetoresistance ratio is larger than all reported values in (Bi, Sb)2(Te, Se)3 topological insulators.

High-pressure phase transitions, amorphization, and crystallization behaviors in Bi2Se3.

PubMed

Zhao, Jinggeng; Liu, Haozhe; Ehm, Lars; Dong, Dawei; Chen, Zhiqiang; Gu, Genda

2013-03-27

The phase transition, amorphization, and crystallization behaviors of the topological insulator bismuth selenide (Bi2Se3) were discovered by performing in situ high-pressure angle-dispersive x-ray diffraction experiments during an increasing, decreasing, and recycling pressure process. In the compression process, Bi2Se3 transforms from the original rhombohedral structure (phase I(A)) to a monoclinic structure (phase II) at about 10.4 GPa, and further to a body-centered tetragonal structure (phase III) at about 24.5 GPa. When releasing pressure to ambient conditions after the complete transformation from phase II to III, Bi2Se3 becomes an amorphous solid (AM). In the relaxation process from this amorphous state, Bi2Se3 starts crystallizing into an orthorhombic structure (phase I(B)) about five hours after releasing the pressure to ambient. A review of the pressure-induced phase transition behaviors of A2B3-type materials composed from the V and VI group elements is presented.

First-principles study of the amorphous In3SbTe2 phase change compound

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Los, Jan H.; Kühne, Thomas D.; Gabardi, Silvia; Bernasconi, Marco

2013-11-01

Ab initio molecular dynamics simulations based on density functional theory were performed to generate amorphous models of the phase change compound In3SbTe2 by quenching from the melt. In-Sb and In-Te are the most abundant bonds with only a minor fraction of Sb-Te bonds. The bonding geometry in the amorphous phase is, however, strongly dependent on the density in the range 6.448-5.75 g/cm3 that we investigated. While at high density the bonding geometry of In atoms is mostly octahedral-like as in the cubic crystalline phase of the ternary compound In3SbTe2, at low density we observed a sizable fraction of tetrahedral-like geometries similar to those present in the crystalline phase of the two binary compounds InTe and InSb that the ternary system can be thought to be made of. We show that the different ratio between octahedral-like and tetrahedral-like bonding geometries has fingerprints in the optical and vibrational spectra.

Nano-crystalline phase evolution and structural modification in Co/V substituted Li2O-Bi2O3-B2O3 glasses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yadav, Arti; Dahiya, M. S.; Hooda, A.; Agarwal, A.; Khasa, S.

2018-05-01

Co/V substituted Li2O-Bi2O3-B2O3 glasses having composition 7CoO•23Li2O•20Bi2O3•50B2O3(CLBB) and xCoO•(30-x)Li2O•20Bi2O3•50B2O3(x = 0.0, 2.0, 5.0, 7.0 and 10.0 mol%, CVLBB1-5 respectively) developed via melt- quench route. The effect of annealing on structural properties of prepared samples was investigated by using XRD patterns and FTIR spectroscopy. Glasses annealed at 400˚C remained amorphous whereas glasses annealed at 500˚C changes from glasses to glass ceramics. The different crystalline phases i.e. Bi2(V0.9Co0.1)O5.25, LiCoVO4, V2O5 & Bi2(VO5) evolve on annealing at 500°C for 6 hours confirmed from the corresponding XRD patterns. The crystallite size of prepared samples were found to vary as 38-60nm This indicated that CoO and V2O5 introduced in matrix act as crystallizing agents and cause structural modification as studied by the FTIR spectra for all heat treated compositions.

Thermoelectric Properties of Bi2Te2Se Compensated by Native Defects and Sn Doping

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fuccillo, M. K.; Jia, Shuang; Charles, M. E.; Cava, R. J.

2013-06-01

In Bi2Te2Se the defect chemistry involves native defects that compete such that they can either exchange dominance or else significantly compensate each other. Here we show how the net carrier concentration, n - p, which depends on the relative amounts of these defects and is readily obtained from Hall data, can be used as a fundamental materials parameter to describe the varied behavior of the thermoelectric properties as a function of compensation. We report the effects of tuning this parameter over multiple orders of magnitude by hole-doping the n-type material Bi2Te2Se0.995, which is already significantly compensated because of its Se deficiency. Crystals with different levels of hole doping were achieved by two separate approaches, namely by selecting pieces from different locations in an undoped crystal in which a systematic carrier concentration gradient had been induced by its growth conditions, and alternatively by doping with Sn for Bi. The thermoelectric power factors for Bi2- x Sn x Te2Se0.995 for x = 0, 0.002, 0.005, 0.010, and 0.040 are reported, and the dependence of the transport properties on the extent of compensation is discussed.

Compositional tuning in sputter-grown highly-oriented Bi-Te films and their optical and electronic structures.

PubMed

Saito, Yuta; Fons, Paul; Makino, Kotaro; Mitrofanov, Kirill V; Uesugi, Fumihiko; Takeguchi, Masaki; Kolobov, Alexander V; Tominaga, Junji

2017-10-12

Growth of Bi-Te films by helicon-wave magnetron sputtering is systematically explored using alloy targets. The film compositions obtained are found to strongly depend on both the sputtering and antenna-coil powers. The obtainable film compositions range from Bi 55 Te 45 to Bi 43 Te 57 when a Bi 2 Te 3 alloy target is used, and from Bi 42 Te 58 to Bi 40 Te 60 (Bi 2 Te 3 ) for a Te-rich Bi 30 Te 70 target. All films show strong orientation of the van der Waals layers (00l planes) parallel to the substrate. The atomic level stacking of Bi 2 Te 3 quintuple and Bi bi-layers has been directly observed by high resolution transmission electron microscopy. Band structure simulations reveal that Bi-rich Bi 4 Te 3 bulk is a zero band gap semimetal with a Dirac cone at the Gamma point when spin-orbit coupling is included. Optical measurements also confirm that the material has a zero band gap. The tunability of the composition and the topological insulating properties of the layers will enable the use of these materials for future electronics applications on an industrial scale.

Influence of Mn concentration on magnetic topological insulator Mn xBi 2−xTe 3 thin-film Hall-effect sensor

DOE PAGES

Ni, Y.; Zhang, Z.; Nlebedim, I. C.; ...

2015-06-11

Hall-effect (HE) sensors based on high-quality Mn-doped Bi 2Te 3 topological insulator (TI) thin films have been systematically studied in this paper. Improvement of Hall sensitivity is found after doping the magnetic element Mn into Bi 2Te 3. The sensors with low Mn concentrations, Mn xBi 2-xTe 3, x = 0.01 and 0.08 show the linear behavior of Hall resistance with sensitivity about 5 Ω/T. And their Hall sensitivity shows weak dependence on temperature. For sensors with high Mn concentration (x = 0.23), the Hall resistance with respect to magnetic field shows a hysteretic behavior. Moreover, its sensitivity shows almostmore » eight times as high as that of the HE sensors with low Mn concentration. The highest sensitivity can reach 43 Ω/T at very low magnetic field. This increase of Hall sensitivity is caused by the occurrence of anomalous HE (AHE) after ferromagnetic phase transition. Our work indicates that the magnetic-element-doped TIs with AHE are good candidates for HE sensors.« less

Surface State-Dominated Photoconduction and THz Generation in Topological Bi2Te2Se Nanowires

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

Topological insulators constitute a fascinating class of quantum materials with nontrivial, gapless states on the surface and insulating bulk states. By revealing the optoelectronic dynamics in the whole range from femto- to microseconds, we demonstrate that the long surface lifetime of Bi2Te2Se nanowires allows us to access the surface states by a pulsed photoconduction scheme and that there is a prevailing bolometric response of the surface states. The interplay of the surface and bulk states dynamics on the different time scales gives rise to a surprising physical property of Bi2Te2Se nanowires: their pulsed photoconductance changes polarity as a function of laser power. Moreover, we show that single Bi2Te2Se nanowires can be used as THz generators for on-chip high-frequency circuits at room temperature. Our results open the avenue for single Bi2Te2Se nanowires as active modules in optoelectronic high-frequency and THz circuits. PMID:28081604

Electronic and spin structure of the wide-band-gap topological insulator: Nearly stoichiometric Bi2Te2S

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Annese, E.; Okuda, T.; Schwier, E. F.; Iwasawa, H.; Shimada, K.; Natamane, M.; Taniguchi, M.; Rusinov, I. P.; Eremeev, S. V.; Kokh, K. A.; Golyashov, V. A.; Tereshchenko, O. E.; Chulkov, E. V.; Kimura, A.

2018-05-01

We have grown the phase-homogeneous ternary compound with composition Bi2Te1.85S1.15 very close to the stoichiometric Bi2Te2S . The measurements performed with spin- and angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy as well as density functional theory and G W calculations revealed a wide-band-gap three-dimensional topological insulator phase. The surface electronic spectrum is characterized by the topological surface state (TSS) with Dirac point located above the valence band and Fermi level lying in the band gap. TSS band dispersion and constant energy contour manifest a weak warping effect near the Fermi level along with in-plane and out-of-plane spin polarization along the Γ ¯-K ¯ line. We identified four additional states at deeper binding energies with high in-plane spin polarization.

Fabrication and Characterization of Bi2Te3-Based Chip-Scale Thermoelectric Energy Harvesting Devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cornett, Jane; Chen, Baoxing; Haidar, Samer; Berney, Helen; McGuinness, Pat; Lane, Bill; Gao, Yuan; He, Yifan; Sun, Nian; Dunham, Marc; Asheghi, Mehdi; Goodson, Ken; Yuan, Yi; Najafi, Khalil

2017-05-01

Thermoelectric energy harvesters convert otherwise wasted heat into electrical energy. As a result, they have the potential to play a critical role in the autonomous wireless sensor network signal chain. In this paper, we present work carried out on the development of Bi2Te3-based thermoelectric chip-scale energy harvesting devices. Process flow, device demonstration and characterization are highlighted.

Superconductivity in the orthorhombic phase of thermoelectric CsPb{sub x}Bi{sub 4−x}Te{sub 6} with 0.3≤x≤1.0

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhang, R.X.; Yang, H.X., E-mail: hxyang@iphy.ac.cn; Tian, H.F.

2015-12-15

Experimental measurements clearly reveal the presence of bulk superconductivity in the CsPb{sub x}Bi{sub 4−x}Te{sub 6} (0.3≤x≤1.0) materials, i.e. the first member of the thermoelectric series of Cs[Pb{sub m}Bi{sub 3}Te{sub 5+m}], these materials have the layered orthorhombic structure containing infinite anionic [PbBi{sub 3}Te{sub 6}]{sup −} slabs separated with Cs{sup +} cations. Temperature dependences of electrical resistivity, magnetic susceptibility, and specific heat have consistently demonstrated that the superconducting transition in Cs{sub 0.96}Pb{sub 0.25}Bi{sub 3.75}Te{sub 6.04} occurs at T{sub c}=3.1 K, with a superconducting volume fraction close to 100% at 1.8 K. Structural study using aberration-corrected STEM/TEM reveals a rich variety of microstructuralmore » phenomena in correlation with the Pb-ordering and chemical inhomogeneity. The superconducting material Cs{sub 0.96}Pb{sub 0.25}Bi{sub 3.75}Te{sub 6.04} with the highest T{sub c} shows a clear ordered structure with a modulation wave vector of q≈a*/2+c*/1.35 on the a–c plane. Our study evidently demonstrates that superconductivity deriving upon doping of narrow-gap semiconductor is a viable approach for exploration of novel superconductors. - Graphical abstract: Bulk superconductivity is discovered in the orthorhombic Cs{sub 0.96}Pb{sub 0.22}Bi{sub 3.80}Te{sub 6.02} materials with the superconducting transition T{sub c}=3.1 K. The compound shows a clear ordered structure with a modulation wave vector of q≈a*/2+c*/1.35 on the a–c plane. - Highlights: • Bulk superconductivity is discovered in the orthorhombic CsPb{sub x}Bi{sub 4−x}Te{sub 6} materials. • The superconducting transition in Cs{sub 0.96}Pb{sub 0.22}Bi{sub 3.80}Te{sub 6.02} occurs at T{sub c}=3.1 K. • Physical property measurements concerning the bulk superconductivity were present. • Structural modulation due to Pb-ordering was observed.« less

Experimental and theoretical identification of a high-pressure polymorph of Ga{sub 2}S{sub 3} with α-Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3}-type structure

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lai, Xiaojing; Zhu, Feng; Qin, Shan

Since the discovery of α-phase Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3}, Sb{sub 2}Te{sub 3}, and Bi{sub 2}Se{sub 3} as 3D topological insulators, many experimental and theoretical studies of A{sub 2}B{sub 3}-type chalcogenides have been performed to search for new materials with interesting elastic and electric properties at ambient and extreme conditions. In this study, high-pressure properties of Ga{sub 2}S{sub 3} have been characterized by in situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray absorption near edge structure measurements, and Density-functional theory (DFT) calculations. At ∼16.0 GPa, a phase transition of α′-Ga{sub 2}S{sub 3} (Cc and Z = 4) is observed experimentally to a new polymorph, which is indentifiedmore » to be the tetradymite-type or α-Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3}-type crystal structure (R3{sup ¯}m and Z = 3) by laser-annealing XRD experiments and DFT calculations. The isothermal pressure-volume relationship of Ga{sub 2}S{sub 3} is well described by the second-order Birch-Murnaghan equation of state with K{sub 0} = 59(2) GPa and K{sub 0}{sup ′} = 4 (fixed) for the α′-Ga{sub 2}S{sub 3}, and K{sub 0} = 91(3) GPa, and K{sub 0}{sup ′} = 4 (fixed) for the tetradymite-type phase. In addition, band gap of α′-Ga{sub 2}S{sub 3} decreases on compression and the tetradymite-type Ga{sub 2}S{sub 3} exhibits metallization based on DFT calculations. The pressure-induced phase transition accompanying by changes of elastic and electrical properties may give some implications to other chalcogenides under high pressure.« less

Gate-Variable Mid-Infrared Optical Transitions in a (Bi1-xSbx)2Te3 Topological Insulator.

PubMed

Whitney, William S; Brar, Victor W; Ou, Yunbo; Shao, Yinming; Davoyan, Artur R; Basov, D N; He, Ke; Xue, Qi-Kun; Atwater, Harry A

2017-01-11

We report mid-infrared spectroscopy measurements of ultrathin, electrostatically gated (Bi 1-x Sb x ) 2 Te 3 topological insulator films in which we observe several percent modulation of transmittance and reflectance as gating shifts the Fermi level. Infrared transmittance measurements of gated films were enabled by use of an epitaxial lift-off method for large-area transfer of topological insulator films from infrared-absorbing SrTiO 3 growth substrates to thermal oxidized silicon substrates. We combine these optical experiments with transport measurements and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy to identify the observed spectral modulation as a gate-driven transfer of spectral weight between both bulk and 2D topological surface channels and interband and intraband channels. We develop a model for the complex permittivity of gated (Bi 1-x Sb x ) 2 Te 3 and find a good match to our experimental data. These results open the path for layered topological insulator materials as a new candidate for tunable, ultrathin infrared optics and highlight the possibility of switching topological optoelectronic phenomena between bulk and spin-polarized surface regimes.

Bulk contribution to magnetotransport properties of low-defect-density Bi2Te3 topological insulator thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ngabonziza, P.; Wang, Y.; Brinkman, A.

2018-04-01

An important challenge in the field of topological materials is to carefully disentangle the electronic transport contribution of the topological surface states from that of the bulk. For Bi2Te3 topological insulator samples, bulk single crystals and thin films exposed to air during fabrication processes are known to be bulk conducting, with the chemical potential in the bulk conduction band. For Bi2Te3 thin films grown by molecular beam epitaxy, we combine structural characterization (transmission electron microscopy), chemical surface analysis as function of time (x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy) and magnetotransport analysis to understand the low defect density and record high bulk electron mobility once charge is doped into the bulk by surface degradation. Carrier densities and electronic mobilities extracted from the Hall effect and the quantum oscillations are consistent and reveal a large bulk carrier mobility. Because of the cylindrical shape of the bulk Fermi surface, the angle dependence of the bulk magnetoresistance oscillations is two dimensional in nature.

Investigation of energy transfer mechanisms between Bi(2+) and Tm(3+) by time-resolved spectrum.

PubMed

Li, Yang; Sharafudeen, Kaniyarakkal; Dong, Guoping; Ma, Zhijun; Qiu, Jianrong

2013-11-01

Here, we report for the first time the optical properties of Bi(2+) and Tm(3+) co-doped germanate glasses and elucidate the potential of this material as substrates to improve the performance of CdTe solar cell. A strong emission peak at 800nm is observed under the excitation of 450-700nm in this material. The energy transfer processes from the transitions of Bi(2+) [(2)P3/2(1)→(2)P1/2]: Tm(3+) [(3)H6→(3)H4] are investigated by time-resolved luminescence spectroscopy. A cover glass exhibiting an ultra-broadband response spectrum covering the entire solar visible wavelength region is suggested to enhance the conversion efficiency of CdTe solar cells significantly. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Surface state-dominated photoconduction and THz-generation in topological Bi2Te2Se-nanowires

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seifert, Paul; Vaklinova, Kristina; Kern, Klaus; Burghard, Marko; Holleitner, Alexander

Topological insulators constitute a fascinating class of quantum materials with non-trivial, gapless states on the surface and trivial, insulating bulk states. In revealing the optoelectronic dynamics in the whole range from femto- to microseconds, we demonstrate that the long surface lifetime of Bi2Te2Se-nanowires allows to access the surface states by a pulsed photoconduction scheme and that there is a prevailing bolometric response of the surface states. The interplay of the surface state dynamics on the different timescales gives rise to a surprising physical property of Bi2Te2Se-nanowires: their pulsed photoconductance changes polarity as a function of laser power. Moreover, we show that single Bi2Te2Se-nanowires can be used as THz-generators for on-chip high-frequency circuits at room temperature. Our results open the avenue for single Bi2Te2Se-nanowires as active modules in optoelectronic high-frequency and THz-circuits. We acknowledge financial support by the ERC Grant NanoReal (n306754).

Magnetic quantum phase transition in Cr-doped Bi2(SexTe1-x)3 driven by the Stark effect

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Zuocheng; Feng, Xiao; Wang, Jing; Lian, Biao; Zhang, Jinsong; Chang, Cuizu; Guo, Minghua; Ou, Yunbo; Feng, Yang; Zhang, Shou-Cheng; He, Ke; Ma, Xucun; Xue, Qi-Kun; Wang, Yayu

2017-10-01

The recent experimental observation of the quantum anomalous Hall effect has cast significant attention on magnetic topological insulators. In these magnetic counterparts of conventional topological insulators such as Bi2Te3, a long-range ferromagnetic state can be established by chemical doping with transition-metal elements. However, a much richer electronic phase diagram can emerge and, in the specific case of Cr-doped Bi2(SexTe1-x)3, a magnetic quantum phase transition tuned by the actual chemical composition has been reported. From an application-oriented perspective, the relevance of these results hinges on the possibility to manipulate magnetism and electronic band topology by external perturbations such as an electric field generated by gate electrodes—similar to what has been achieved in conventional diluted magnetic semiconductors. Here, we investigate the magneto-transport properties of Cr-doped Bi2(SexTe1-x)3 with different compositions under the effect of a gate voltage. The electric field has a negligible effect on magnetic order for all investigated compositions, with the remarkable exception of the sample close to the topological quantum critical point, where the gate voltage reversibly drives a ferromagnetic-to-paramagnetic phase transition. Theoretical calculations show that a perpendicular electric field causes a shift in the electronic energy levels due to the Stark effect, which induces a topological quantum phase transition and, in turn, a magnetic phase transition.

Tuning the giant magnetoelastic transition in Ba3BiIr2O9 and Ba3BiRu2O9

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Zixin; Avdeev, Maxim; Kennedy, Brendan J.; Knight, Kevin S.; Zhou, Qingdi; Ling, Chris D.

2014-07-01

We have experimentally investigated the effects of pressure on the magnetoelastic transitions associated with the opening of spin-gaps in Ba3BiIr2O9 and Ba3BiRu2O9. For both compounds, reducing the unit cell volume by either external physical and internal chemical pressure was found to reduce the temperature T* of the transition and, to a lesser extent, the magnitude of the associated negative thermal volume expansion. The results yield the latent heat associated with the transitions, -3.34(3) × 102 J mol-1 for Ba3BiIr2O9 and -7.1(5) × 102 J mol-1 for Ba3BiRu2O9. The transition in Ba3BiRu2O9 is significantly more robust than in Ba3BiIr2O9, requiring an order of magnitude higher pressures to achieve the same reduction in T*. The differing responses of the two compounds points to differences between the 4d and 5d metals and hence to the importance of spin-orbit coupling, which is expected to be much stronger in the Ir compound.

Polarizability, optical basicity and optical properties of SiO2B2O3Bi2O3TeO2 glass system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kashif, I.; Ratep, A.; Adel, Gh.

2018-07-01

Glasses having a composition xSiO2 xB2O3 (95-2 x) Bi2O35TeO2 where x = (5, 10, 15, 20, 25) prepared by the melt-quenching technique. Thermal stability, density, optical transmittance, and the refractive index of these glasses investigated. Glass samples were transparent in the visible to near-infrared (NIR) region and had a high refractive index. A number of glass samples have high glass-forming ability. This indicates that the quarterly glasses are suitable for optical applications in the visible to the NIR region. Bi2O3 substituted by B2O3 and SiO2 on optical properties discussed. It suggested that the substitution of Bi2O3 increased the density, molar volume, the molar polarizability, optical basicity and refractive index in addition to, the oxygen packing density, the optical energy gap, and metallization decrease. These results are helpful for designing new optical glasses controlled to have a higher refractive index. All studied glass presented high nonlinearities, and the addition of network modifiers made a little contribution. Results clarified the bandgap energy reduction, which associated with the growth within the non-bridging oxygen content with the addition of the network modifier. An increase in the refractive index nonlinearity explained by the optical basicity and the high electronic polarizability of the modifier ions.

X-ray diffraction study of the molecular propolis films deposited from an alcohol solution onto the cleavage surfaces of layered V2VI3 compounds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Drapak, S. I.; Gavrylyuk, S. V.; Kaminskii, V. M.; Kovalyuk, Z. D.

2008-09-01

The structures of the molecular propolis films deposited from an alcohol solution on the (0001) cleavage surface of layered bismuth selenide and telluride are studied by X-ray diffraction. Despite the chemical interaction between the semiconductor substrates and the organic-substance components, the molecular structural ordering of the propolis films is shown to be identical to that in the films of this substance on the surface of amorphous glass substrates. The chemical and deformation interaction between the organic substance and the layered V2VI3 compounds is found to result in the formation of an organic-inorganic sandwich nanostructure at a distance of ˜0.3 μm from the layered crystal-propolis film interface.

Synthesis and structure of A4V6[Te2(4+)Te6+]O24 (A = K, Rb)-two new quaternary mixed-valent tellurium oxides.

PubMed

Zhu, Tianxiang; Qin, Jingui; Halasyamani, P Shiv

2011-09-14

Two new mixed-valent tellurium oxides with vanadium(V), A(4)V(6)[Te(2)(4+)Te(6+)]O(24) (A = K and Rb), have been synthesized by hydrothermal and conventional solid state techniques. Their structures were determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. These two iso-structural compounds exhibit layered structural topologies consisting of [V(6)Te(3)O(24)](4-) anionic units. In these anionic structural units, a Te(6+)O(6) octahedron is connected to six VO(4) tetrahedra by corner-sharing to generate a [V(6)TeO(24)] unit, and each of these [V(6)TeO(24)] units are interconnected by sharing two Te(4+)O(3) polyhedra to complete the infinite [V(6)Te(3)O(24)](4-) sheets. Infrared spectroscopy, UV-Visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis were also performed on these two compounds. Crystal data: K(4)V(6)Te(3)O(24), trigonal, space group R ̅3c (No. 167) with a = b = 9.7075(6) Å, c = 42.701(3) Å, V = 3484.9(4) Å(3), and Z = 6; Rb(4)V(6)Te(3)O(24), trigonal, space group R ̅3c (No. 167) with a = b = 9.8399(9) Å, c = 43.012(4) Å, V = 3606.6(6) Å(3), and Z = 6. This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2011

Tuning the giant magnetoelastic transition in Ba3BiIr2O9 and Ba3BiRu2O9.

PubMed

Huang, Zixin; Avdeev, Maxim; Kennedy, Brendan J; Knight, Kevin S; Zhou, Qingdi; Ling, Chris D

2014-07-09

We have experimentally investigated the effects of pressure on the magnetoelastic transitions associated with the opening of spin-gaps in Ba3BiIr2O9 and Ba3BiRu2O9. For both compounds, reducing the unit cell volume by either external physical and internal chemical pressure was found to reduce the temperature T(*) of the transition and, to a lesser extent, the magnitude of the associated negative thermal volume expansion. The results yield the latent heat associated with the transitions, -3.34(3) × 10(2) J mol(-1) for Ba3BiIr2O9 and -7.1(5) × 10(2) J mol(-1) for Ba3BiRu2O9. The transition in Ba3BiRu2O9 is significantly more robust than in Ba3BiIr2O9, requiring an order of magnitude higher pressures to achieve the same reduction in T(*). The differing responses of the two compounds points to differences between the 4d and 5d metals and hence to the importance of spin-orbit coupling, which is expected to be much stronger in the Ir compound.

Maximizing the thermoelectric performance of topological insulator Bi2Te3 films in the few-quintuple layer regime

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Huijun; Liang, Jinghua; Cheng, Long; Zhang, Jie; Zhang, Zhenyu

Using first-principles calculations and Boltzmann theory, we explore the feasibility to maximize the thermoelectric figure of merit (ZT) of topological insulator Bi2Te3 films in the few-quintuple layer regime. We discover that the delicate competitions between the surface and bulk contributions, coupled with the overall quantum size effects, lead to a novel and generic non-monotonous dependence of ZT on the film thickness. In particular, when the system crosses into the topologically non-trivial regime upon increasing the film thickness, the much longer surface relaxation time associated with the robust nature of the topological surface states results in a maximal ZT value, which can be further optimized to ~2.0 under physically realistic conditions. We also reveal the appealing potential of bridging the long-standing ZT asymmetry of p- and n-type Bi2Te3 systems. These findings help to establish intricate connections between the thermoelectric materials and topological insulators.