Anomalously high thermoelectric power factor in epitaxial ScN thin films

Abstract

Thermoelectric properties of ScN thin films grown by reactive magnetron sputtering on Al2O3(0001) wafers are reported. X-ray diffraction and elastic recoil detection analyses show that the composition of the films is close to stoichiometry with trace amounts (∼1 at. % in total) of C, O, and F. We found that the ScN thin-film exhibits a rather low electrical resistivity of ∼2.94 μΩm, while its Seebeck coefficient is approximately ∼−86 μV/K at 800 K, yielding a power factor of ∼2.5 × 10−3 W/mK2. This value is anomalously high for common transition-metal nitrides.