Understanding and Improving Plasma Synthesized Silicon Germanium Films for Thermoelectric Applications

Abstract

Laser sintering and Phenyl Acetylene surface functionalization of plasma synthesized silicon germanium nanoparticle films and powders were studied to improve electrical conductivities of these materials. Laser sintering greatly improved the electrical conductivity in thin films with peak values of 70.42 S/cm. Phenyl Acetylene functionalization was successful in both doped and undoped silicon germanium nanoparticles. Further studies should be performed to quantify the electrical conductivity values in bulk, compacted pellets of the functionalized nanoparticles. Finally, research into activation energies of compacted silicon germanium films showed drastic differences between energies obtained when using Seebeck coefficient and energies obtained when using electrical conductivity. This is attributed to traps on the surface of the nanoparticles and the potential barrier between nanoparticles.