Toward roll-to-roll ALD of thermoelectric Al-doped ZnO thin films on flexible nanostructured PET membranes

Abstract

Thin films are an effective way of manufacturing thermoelectric (TE) sensors for biomedical devices and wearable electronics. Excellent conformality and sub-nanometer thickness control of atomic layer deposition (ALD) makes it a promising method of preparing TE thin films on flexible polymer and textile substrates suitable for sensor use. Here, Al-doped ZnO (AZO) films were deposited on flexible perforated polyethylene terephthalate (PET) templates with 50/1 diethylzinc/trimethylaluminum (DEZ/TMA) pulsing ratio at a low temperature of 100°C. Thermoelectric properties of the resulting nanocomposites were measured. The application potential of the present ALD-made TE coatings on flexible PET films for future roll-to-roll fabrication is discussed.