The Electrical Conductivity and Thermoelectric Power of Bismuth Telluride

Abstract

The electrical conductivity and thermoelectric power of the semiconductor Bi2Te3 have been measured between 150°K and 300°K. n-type and p-type samples with a wide range of carrier concentration have been included. Most samples have shown extrinsic conduction and have been partially degenerate over at least part of the temperature range, so it has been necessary to use Fermi-Dirac statistics in interpreting the results. A few samples have exhibited mixed and intrinsic conduction at the higher temperatures. It has been possible to determine the variation of carrier mobility with temperature and to estimate the energy dependence of the relaxation time, as well as a number of the semiconductor parameters.