EFFECT OF ANTIMONY CONTENT ON THE THERMOELECTRIC FIGURE OF MERIT OF BI1-XSBX ALLOYS

The electrical resistivity, thermoelectric power and thermal conductiv ity have been measured between 4.2 and 300 K on three Bi1-xSbx alloys of different composition (x = 0.144, 0.165 and 0.181) prepared by the travelling heater method. The temperature dependences of these paramet ers follow the same general trends as those of semiconducting alloys h aving lower Sb contents. The antimony dependence of the figure of meri t for semiconducting alloys has been determined for various temperatur es. The dependence presents two maxima for Sb contents of x approximat e to 0.09 and 0.16 around 80 K. These features have been qualitatively explained from the band structure and interband hole Scattering mecha nisms. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.