Structure and Transport Properties of Nickel-Implanted CoSb3 Skutterudite Thin Films Synthesized via Pulsed Laser Deposition

The present study reports the effect of Ni ion implantation on the structural, compositional, electrical, and thermoelectric properties and electronic structures of CoSb3 skutterudite thin films deposited on Si substrate by pulsed laser deposition. Ni ions were implanted at 200 keV in CoSb3 thin films at three different fluences: 3 × 1015, 6 × 1015, and 1.5 × 1016 ions/cm2. X-ray diffraction of Ni-implanted films shows an additional phase of Co0.75Ni0.25Sb3. The electrical measurement of pristine films exhibits typical semiconductor behavior, while the Ni-implanted films show an abrupt increase in resistivity, which may be attributed to the formation of Co0.75Ni0.25Sb3 and material modification by the energetic ion beam. The Seebeck coefficient measurements imply that all the films are n-type with maximum Seebeck coefficient of ∼75 μV/K at ∼410 K for 2% Ni-implanted film which is about 7 times higher than the pristine CoSb3 film. The X-ray absorption study of Ni, Co, and Sb spectrum confirms that Ni ions ...