A study on Sn ion implantation into lead telluride thermoelectric material

Polycrystalline PbTe samples have been implanted by Sn+ ion at an energy of 200 KeV with doses of 6×1016 and 1×1017 ions/cm2 in order to create a Pb1−xSnxTe layer with higher carrier concentration. The thermoelectric properties of the implanted and unimplanted samples have been measured at room temperature. The effects of Sn+ ion implantation on the structure of PbTe were investigated using XRD and XPS. The results show that Pb1−xSnxTe phase has been created in the surface layer after Sn+ ion implantation, which can modify the thermoelectric properties of PbTe.