Impact of the Topological Surface State on the Thermoelectric Transport in Sb₂Te₃ Thin Films

Ab initio electronic structure calculations based on density functional theory and tight-binding methods for the thermoelectric properties of p-type Sb2Te3 films are presented. The thickness-dependent electrical conductivity and the thermopower are computed in the diffusive limit of transport based on the Boltzmann equation. Contributions of the bulk and the surface to the transport coefficients are separated, which enables to identify a clear impact of the topological surface state on the thermoelectric properties. When the charge carrier concentration is tuned, a crossover between a surface-state-dominant and a Fuchs-Sondheimer transport regime is achieved. The calculations are corroborated by thermoelectric transport measurements on Sb2Te3 films grown by atomic layer deposition.