JETP Letters: issues online

Thermoelectric materials can directly convert waste heat into electricity with all solid state devices. Here we report thermoelectric properties of Cu₂O thin film with high Seebeck coefficient. The Cu₂O thin film was fabricated by oxidizing copper wire directly on stove at ambient environment. Within the temperature range of 300 to 500 K, we measured Seebeck coefficient of Cu₂O thin film as high as 4000 μV/K at 370 K, higher than the most current reported Cu₂O thin film ( $\sim$ 1000 μV/K). Using the estimated resistivity about 31 Ω•cm, power factor of the Cu₂O thin film reached 52 μW/m • K². We conjecture the relatively high Seebeck coefficient relates very likely to the band bending between Cu₂O-Cu, Cu₂O-SnO₂. High Seebeck coefficient and ensuing improved power factor could find applications in temperature/touch monitoring, transient thermoelectric cooling and space-constrained area.