A thin film thermoelectric generator that consisted of 5 p/n pairs was fabricated with 1 μm-thick n-type In3Sb1Te2 and p-type Ge2Sb2Te5 deposited via radio frequency magnetron sputtering. First, 1 μm-thick GST and IST thin films were deposited at 250 oC and room temperature, respectively, via radio-frequency sputtering; these films were annealed from 250 to 450 oC via rapid thermal annealing. The optimal power factor was found at an annealing temperature of 400 oC for 10 min. To demonstrate thermoelectric generation, we measured the output voltage and estimated the maximum power of the n-IST/ p-GST generator by imposing a temperature difference between the hot and cold junctions. The maximum output voltage and the estimated maximum power of the 1 μm-thick n-IST/p-GST TE generators are approximately 17.1 mV and 5.1 nW at ΔT = 12K, respectively.

In this study, we report the sintering behavior and properties of a Ge2Sb2Te5 alloy powders for use as asputtering target by spark plasma sintering. The effect of various sintering parameters, such as pressure, temperature andtime, on the density and hardness of the target has been investigated in detail. Structural characterization was performedby scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. Hardness and thermal properties were measured by differentialscanning calorimetry and micro-vickers hardness tester. The density and hardness of the sintered Ge2Sb2Te5 materialswere 5.8976~6.3687 g/cm3 and 32~75 Hv, respectively.