Thermoelectric materials can transform temperature differences and waste heat into electricity. This master thesis deals with thermoelectric oxide materials and combining them with textiles. The aim of the literature review is to survey p-type thermoelectric oxide materials and look for potential applications for thermoelectric thin film modules. In addition, the literature review will focus on applying atomic layer deposition (ALD) on textiles. In the experimental part, the aim is to deposit crystalline oxide thin films on textiles and investigate the properties of the films. The purpose is to find out suitable deposition parameters and the effect of the textile substrate on the properties of the material. In addition the effect of hybrid superlattice structure and doping to the properties of oxide is investigated.

Oxide materials are potential option to replace thermoelectric materials based on heavy metals that are currently in use because they can handle high temperatures and are environmentally friendly. In addition they enable the deposition of thermoelectric thin films for example by using ALD. There have already been developed well-established ALD-processes for many n-type thermoelectric oxide materials but p-type materials require more research. The most potential p-type thermoelectric oxide materials to be deposited by ALD are copper and nickel oxides. Thin film modules bring many advantages, such as small volume and high power density. Different kinds of refrigeration and generation applications such as hybrid solar cells, implantable medical devices and wearable electronics are potential application areas for them. Wearable electronics includes the possibility of depositing thin films directly on textile. Application of ALD on polymers is a quite new area of study and it includes lots of unknown phenomena because surface of the polymer substrate differs from widely used solid substrates. In addition textiles typically have very porous structure which makes ALD even more difficult.

In the experimental part of the thesis, crystalline zinc oxide was successfully deposited on both cotton textile and yarn. This was proved by x-ray diffraction measurements. According to the results, the optimal pulse and purge lengths were determined to be 1,5 s and 10 s for both diethyl zinc and water. Zinc oxide was also doped with aluminum and its structure was transformed into a hybrid superlattice by depositing organic layers at regular intervals. Structural, thermoelectric and practical properties of the thin films deposited on textiles were investigated. According to the results, both the hybrid superlattice structure and doping improve thermoelectric properties of zinc oxide.