Evaluation of pulse magnet on sputtered Ge films doped with antimony for sensors application

The results of investigations concerning the thermoelectric properties and the structure of Ge sputtered films under pulsed voltage operation of magne tron are reported. The film properties are discussed as a function of dopin g with antimony (0.5-1.7 at.%), the substrate temperature during deposition (623-950 K) and the effective power supplying (0.18-0.4W). Almost all as-d eposited films were polycrystalline and contained crystallites of Ge phase of diamond type. The attractive feature was the possibility of formation of Ge (Sb) films with p- and n-type conduction. The Seebeck coefficients in t he range of -550 to 400 muV K-1 were achievable. The results indicated that the internal stresses in Ge phase changed from compression to tension (-2. 6 x 10(8) to 1.8 x 10(8) Pa) corresponding with change of conduction type. It can be modified by the deposition conditions or kind of substrate. The e xperimental results are discussed in terms of microstructure changes. The p roper deposition conditions for optimizing the efficiency of thermoelectric power can be obtained. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.