Epitaxial CrN thin films with high thermoelectric figure of merit.

Quintela, Camilo X; Podkaminer, Jacob P; Luckyanova, Maria N; Paudel, Tula R; Thies, Eric L; Hillsberry, Daniel A; Tenne, Dmitri A; Tsymbal, Evgeny Y et al. · Adv Mater · 2015

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

A large enhancement of the thermoelectric figure of merit is reported in single-crystalline films of CrN. The mechanism of the reduction of the lattice thermal conductivity in cubic CrN is similar to the resonant bonding in IV-VI compounds. Therefore, useful ideas from classic thermo-electrics can be applied to tune functionalities in transition metal nitrides and oxides.