Electrical Properties of Liquid Si and Liquid Au–Si Alloys

Abstract

The electrical resistivity and the thermoelectric power of liquid Au–Si alloys have been measured as a function of temperature. The electrical resistivity increases rapidly with the addition for Si to liquid Au, and the composition dependence of the electrical resistivity of liquid Au_1−cSi_c alloys exhibits a maximum at the composition c=0.4. A negative temperature coefficient of electrical resistivity was confirmed for liquid Si and also found for liquid Au_1−cSi_c alloys with 0.15≤c≤0.8. The composition dependence of the thermoelectric power for liquid Au_1−cSi_c alloys shows a rapid change from a positive value in the Au-rich region to a negative value in the composition range c≥0.15 and reaches a minimum value of −6 μV/K at the composition c=0.8. The electrical resistivity and the thermoelectric power of liquid Au–Si alloys have been estimated by the Faber–Ziman theory. The lower eutectic region in the system will be also studied by using the thermodynamic equation.