Unlocking the thermoelectric potential of nanocrystalline magnesium selenide thin films grown by single stage horizontal tube furnace (SSHTF)

In this manuscript, the thin films of Magnesium Selenide (MgSe) were synthesized on a glass substrate using a single-stage horizontal tube furnace (SSHTF) which is supposed to be the simplest and a cost-effective approach. Before the deposition of thin films, the substrate was cleaned using standard methods. A pellet was formed by taking an equal ratio (1:1) of magnesium (Mg) and selenium (Se) powders and then evaporating them at 700 o C for 1 h. The flow rate of nitrogen gas (100 SCCM) was maintained during the deposition process to avoid unwanted oxygen. A number of samples were synthesized by varying the source to substrate distance, and some representative samples are chosen for this study. The post-growth samples were characterized using XRD, SEM, and Raman Spectroscopy. The thermoelectric potential of all samples was tested by a home-developed Seebeck system. We have observed some promising values of the Seebeck coefficient (7.175 × 10 −5 V/ ° C) and power factor (6.35 × 10 −8 Wm −1o C −2 ) at optimized source-to substrate distance. These encouraging results will open the door for MgSe-based thermoelectric research and further explore its power generation potential in the future. • Growth of MgSe thin films using vacuum tube furnace. • Effect of source to substrate distance on various properties. • Characterization of samples using XRD, Raman spectroscopy, SEM and Seebeck effect. • Healthy values of Seebeck coefficient and power factor were observed.