title: Impact of the Topological Surface State on the Thermoelectric Transport in Sb2Te3 Thin Films.
abstract: Ab initio electronic structure calculations based on density functional theory and tight-binding methods for the thermoelectric properties of p-type Sb2Te3 films are presented. The thickness-dependent electrical conductivity and the thermopower are computed in the diffusive limit of transport based on the Boltzmann equation. Contributions of the bulk and the surface to the transport coefficients are separated, which enables to identify a clear impact of the topological surface state on the thermoelectric properties. When the charge carrier concentration is tuned, a crossover between a surface-state-dominant and a Fuchs-Sondheimer transport regime is achieved. The calculations are corroborated by thermoelectric transport measurements on Sb2Te3 films grown by atomic layer deposition.
authors.affiliation: †Institute of Physics, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, D-06099 Halle, Germany.
authors.forename: Nicki F
authors.initials: NF
authors.lastname: Hinsche
authors.affiliation: ‡Institute of Nanostructure and Solid State Physics, Universität Hamburg, Jungiusstrasse 11, D-20355 Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Sebastian
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zastrow
authors.affiliation: ‡Institute of Nanostructure and Solid State Physics, Universität Hamburg, Jungiusstrasse 11, D-20355 Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Johannes
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gooth
authors.affiliation: ‡Institute of Nanostructure and Solid State Physics, Universität Hamburg, Jungiusstrasse 11, D-20355 Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Laurens
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pudewill
authors.affiliation: ‡Institute of Nanostructure and Solid State Physics, Universität Hamburg, Jungiusstrasse 11, D-20355 Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zierold
authors.affiliation: §Max Planck Institute of Microstructure Physics, Weinberg 2, D-06120 Halle, Germany.
authors.forename: Florian
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rittweger
authors.affiliation: †Institute of Physics, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, D-06099 Halle, Germany.
authors.forename: Tomáš
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Rauch
authors.affiliation: †Institute of Physics, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, D-06099 Halle, Germany.
authors.forename: Jürgen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Henk
authors.affiliation: ‡Institute of Nanostructure and Solid State Physics, Universität Hamburg, Jungiusstrasse 11, D-20355 Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Kornelius
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nielsch
authors.affiliation: †Institute of Physics, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, D-06099 Halle, Germany.|§Max Planck Institute of Microstructure Physics, Weinberg 2, D-06120 Halle, Germany.
authors.forename: Ingrid
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Mertig
keywords: atomic layer deposition (ALD); density functional theory (DFT); four-terminal measurements; surface states; thermoelectrics; thermopower; thin films; topological insulators