Topological layered n-type thermoelectrics based on bismuth telluride solid solutions

TL;DR

This study investigates the surface states and morphology of topological n-type thermoelectric solid solutions based on Bi2Te3 with atomic substitutions, revealing how surface electronic properties correlate with thermoelectric performance.

Contribution

It provides new insights into the surface electronic states and their relation to thermoelectric properties in bismuth telluride solid solutions with atomic substitutions.

Findings

Surface morphology features depend on composition and thermoelectric properties.

Surface state parameters correlate with the thermoelectric power factor.

Largest surface state contribution observed in Bi1.98In0.02Te2.85Se0.15.

Abstract

In topological n-type thermoelectrics based on $Bi_{2}Te_{3}$ with atomic substitutions Bi $\rightarrow$ In, Te $\rightarrow$ Se, S, the morphology and the surface states of Dirac fermions on the interlayer (0001) surface of van der Waals were studied by scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy (STM/STS) techniques. By the STM method, the dark and light spots on the surface were found, which intensities depend on the composition and thermoelectric properties of solid solutions. The observed surface morphology features in the solid solutions are explained by distortions of surface electronic states originated by atomic substitutions, influence of doping impurity, and formation of structural defects. Fast Fourier transform (FFT) of the morphology STM images of the (0001) surface were used to obtain the interference patterns of the quasiparticles excitation caused by surface electrons scattering by defects. The Dirac point energy and its fluctuations, peak energies of surface defects, the positions of the valence and conduction band edges, and the energy gap were determined from an analysis of tunneling spectra. A correlation between the parameters of surface states of Dirac fermions and thermoelectric properties was found. Thus, a contribution of the fermions surface states increases with rise of the surface concentration in solid solutions with high power factor, and the largest concentration value was observed in the $Bi_{1.98}In_{0.02}Te_{2.85}Se_{0.15}$ composition. The dependences of Fermi energy on the wave vector for different solid solutions are described by a set of Dirac cone sections, which are close within the limits of the fluctuations of the Dirac point energy that explained by weak changes of the Fermi velocity in the compositions at studied atomic substitutions in the bismuth telluride sublattices.