Electrical Transports in Al/Bi/Ge Alloy Systems

DOI : http://dx.doi.org/10.13005/msri/031a06

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The electrical transport properties in Al/Bi/Ge alloy systems have been examined in this study at electric field values 0.20 – 0.65 V/m. Powdered samples of the various elements were mixed together in a borosilicate tube which were enclosed in furnace and heated from room temperature to about 700oC to form molten alloy. The melted samples were homogenized at this temperature for about three hours after which the furnace was switched off and the samples allowed to cool down gradually to room temperature. The results of the study showed that the conductivity of the samples increases with increase in temperature and fractional concentration of Ge. An insignificant deviation from the dependence a(T) a exp(1/T) within the temperate 303 – 353 K was observed. This indicates that the electrical behavior of the samples followed the Arrhenius relation s = soexp (-eo/kT) typical of semiconductor materials. The variation of conductivity with temperature revealed a wide variation in thermal activation energy sensitive to temperature and concentration of the samples. The values of the calculated activation energies and the general electrical properties exhibited by the system in the study showed that the alloy materials are comparable with most semiconductor materials that are hitherto being studied due to their numerous and attractive applications in solar cell development and thermo electric device applications.

Electrical transport; Al/Bi/Ge alloys; conductivity; activation energy