Effect of silver incorporation on the thermoelectric properties of ITO thin films

Abstract

Indium tin oxide (ITO) has been widely investigated for optoelectronic applications. However, the current study focuses on the thermoelectric aspects of ITO thin films. The thermoelectric transport properties of ITO have been further improved through a facile method of silver (Ag) incorporation into ITO thin films. The Ag incorporation introduces a secondary phase, as inferred from detailed structural characterizations, which leads to the creation of heterogeneous interfaces that help in tuning the thermoelectric properties. These interfaces act as carrier scattering centers which lower the carrier's mobility and result in a simultaneous enhancement of the electrical conductivity and Seebeck coefficient. As a consequence, the power factor reached the highest value of 31.75 μW m⁻¹ K⁻² at 625 K, which is about 100% higher than that of the pure ITO. Furthermore, by merely relying on electronic thermal conductivity, a slightly overestimated ZT value of 0.15 has been achieved for the optimized Ag content. The proposed simple and rapid route paves the way to further explore the potential of ITO thin films for thermoelectric applications in smart energy conversion and heating–cooling devices.