Self-Assembly In Situ Selenization Engineering to Synthesize High-Performance Ag<sub>2</sub>Se Thin Films
Dongwei Ao, Hanwen Xu, J. L. Zhang, Qin Liu, R. F. Wang, Wenqing Wei, Zhuanghao Zheng, Yuexing Chen
Abstract
Ag 2 Se thin film devices have attracted significant interest in energy harvesting technologies for powering microscale systems. In this work, an in situ selenide diffusion strategy is employed to prepare Ag 2 Se thin films, optimizing the carrier transport by tuning in situ synthesis temperature. The optimized carrier mobility of ∼871.43 cm –2 V –1 s –1 is achieved, leading to a high room-temperature electric conductivity of ∼1235 S cm –1 . Correspondingly, a decent Seebeck coefficient (| S | > 120 μV K –1 ) is obtained due to the optimal carrier concentration of approximately 1 × 10 19 cm –3 . Consequently, the Ag 2 Se film synthesized at 423 K exhibits a high power factor of ∼20.54 μW cm –1 K –2 at room temperature. A thermoelectric generator with 5 single legs is assembled by Ag 2 Se thin films. This device is capable of generating an output voltage of approximately 8.58 mV and a corresponding power of approximately 3.76 nW when subjected to a temperature difference of 40 K. The study presents an effective method for enhancing the thermoelectric performance of Ag 2 Se thin films.