The Temperature Dependence of Some Electrical Properties in Dilute Bi-Sn and Bi-Te Alloys

The measurements were made on the electrical resistivity, the magnetoresistance and the Hall coefficient of the bismuth alloys containing small amounts of tin or tellurium as function of temperatures between 4.2°and 400°K. In Bi-Sn alloys a hump appeared in the resistivity, the magnetoresistance and the Hall coefficient versus temperature curves, respectively, while in Bi-Te alloys it did in the magnetoresistance and the Hall coefficient versus temperature curves of only heavily-doped specimens. Such behaviors could be explained qualitatively in terms of the electronic band structure and the change of the carrier concentration. Especially, the appearance of such humps in Bi-Te alloys were explained in terms of the thermal excitation of the electrons from the Fermi level to the upper empty conduction band