Effect of nanowires in microporous structures on the thermoelectric properties of oxidized Sb-doped ZnO film

Sb-doped ZnO thermoelectric films with microporous structures are fabricated by oxidizing evaporated Zn-Sb thin films in a leaf-like surface. High magnetic field (HMF) and Sb are employed to tune the formation of nanowires and nanorods in the microporous films and conduction type. Nanowire is formed in the film with Sb content of 3.0% and nanorod is formed with 4.6% Sb with the absence of HMF. P-type ZnO films with a wuterzite are formed. The resistivity of the films decreases by two orders of magnitude by increasing Sb content. The resistivity of films decreases 45% and 80% by forming nanowires and nanorods, respectively. The power factor of the nanorod structures increases by two orders of magnitude by comparison with others and reaches to 52.6 μW/m K2. This indicates that the nanorod structures with a higher Sb content are easy to obtain stable p-type semiconductor with a higher power factor.