Thermoelectric effects in nanoscale layers of manganese silicide

The values of the thermoelectric power, layer resistivity and thermal conductivity of a Mn x Si 1– x nanoscale layer and Mn x Si 1– x /Si superlattice on silicon depending on the growth temperature in the range T = 300–600 K are found experimentally. The contribution of the nanoscale film and substrate to the thermoelectric effect is discussed. The thermoelectric figure of merit of a single manganese-ssilicide layer, superlattice, and layer/substrate system is estimated. The largest figure of merit ZT = 0.59 ± 0.06 is found for Mn 0.2 Si 0.8 at T = 600 K.