ELECTRICAL RESISTANCE AND THERMOELECTRIC POWER OF AN AMORPHOUS TE70CU25AU5 ALLOY

The electrical resistance and the thermoelectric power of an amorphous Te70Cu25Au5 alloy obtained by rapid quenching from the liquid state have been measured in the range of 80 to 300°K. The results suggest that the bonding between tellurium atoms is covalent, as in crystalline tellurium. The amorphous alloy is a p-type semiconductor with an intrinsic energy gap of 0.210.01 eV. The results also establish the existence of extrinsic conduction in an amorphous alloy with a discrete localized energy level of 0.090.015 eV above the top of the valence band. © 1968 The American Physical Society.