Direct electrical transport measurement on a single thermoelectric nanowire embedded in an alumina template

Abstract

Electrical conductivity is a key parameter to increase the performance of thermoelectric materials. However, the measurement of such performance remains complex for 1D structures, involving tedious processing. In this study, we present a non-destructive, rapid and easy approach for the characterization of electrical conductivity of Bi₂Te₃ based single nanowires. By controlling the nanowire overgrowth, each nanowire emerges in the form of a micrometric hemisphere constituting a unique contact zone for direct nanoprobing. As nanowires need no preliminary preparation and remain in their template during measurement, we avoid oxidation effects and time-consuming processing. Electrical transport results show a low nanowire resistivity for compact nanowires obtained at low overpotential. Such values are comparable to bulk materials and thin films. This method not only confirmed its reliability, but it could also be adopted for other semiconducting or metallic electrodeposited nanowires.