Tailoring Nanoporous Structures in BiTe Thin Films for Improved Thermoelectric Performance.

Thin-film thermoelectrics (TEs) with unique advantages have triggered great interest in thermal management and energy harvesting technology for ambient temperature microscale systems. Although they have exhibited a good prospect, their unsatisfactory performances still seriously hamper their widespread application. Tailoring the porous structure has been demonstrated to be a facile strategy to significantly reduce thermal conductivity and enhance the figure of merit () of bulk TE materials; however, it is challenging for thin-film TEs.