Electrophysical properties of Pb-enriched PbTe monocrystalline and polycrystalline thin films
Annotatsiya
This study presents a comparative analysis of the electrophysical properties of lead-enriched PbTe monocrystalline and polycrystalline thin films, highlighting their potential applications in photovoltaics and sustainable photonic devices. We measured the electrical conductivity and thermoelectric voltage of films with different amounts of Pb excess (0.005–0.5 at.% for monocrystals; 0.2–3.2 wt.% for polycrystals) at temperatures ranging from 70 to 300 K. We learnt that polycrystalline thin films are 2 to 2.5 times better at conducting electricity than monocrystalline thin films. The Arrhenius equation shows us how conductivity works in films with a lot of crystals. By adjusting the amount of lead in the films, you can modify the activation energy (ΔEa) from 0.090 eV to 0.015 eV. These findings indicate that selectively stoichiometric engineering of polycrystalline PbTe films is an effective method for producing thermoelectric and photon-absorbing layers that are highly efficient, adaptable, and cost-effective for next-generation sustainable energy conversion systems.