Epitaxial Growth and Thermoelectric Measurement of Bi₂Te₃/Sb Superlattice Nanowires

Superlattice nanowires are expected to show further enhanced thermoelectric performance compared with conventional nanowires or superlattice thin films. We report the epitaxial growth of high density Bi₂Te₃/Sb superlattice nanowire arrays with a very small bilayer thickness by pulse electrodeposition. Transmission electron microscopy, selected area electron diffraction and high resolution transmission electron microscopy were used to characterize the superlattice nanowires, and Harman technique was employed to measure the figure of merit (ZT) of the superlattice nanowire array in high vacuum condition. The superlattice nanowire arrays exhibit a ZT of 0.15 at 330 K, and a temperature difference of about 6.6 K can be realized across the nanowire arrays.