Effect of Temperature on the Hall Coefficient of Indium and Indium-Rich Solid Solutions

Abstract

The variations of the Hall coefficients R_H of indium and indium-rich alloys (In–Pb, In–Cd, In–Tl and In–Hg) have been determined as functions of temperature. R_H for pure indium varies from +0.979 at −195.8°C to −1.020×10⁻¹¹ (m³/coul.) at 110°C, the sign being reversed at about 0°C. The values of R_H for In–Pb, In–Tl and In–Cd deviate to the negative side at about −195.8°C. At temperatures higher than about 0°C R_H for these alloys show variations similar to that in pure indium.
The relation of the observed behavior of R_H to that of the axial ratio c/a is discussed. An attempt is made to explain it in terms of the anisotropy of electronic relaxation times τ_p and τ_i, which are due to phonon and impurity scatterings respectively.
The temperature dependences of R_H in aluminium and lead are similar to that in indium. It seems that the temperature dependence of R_H in these metals is chiefly determined by the nature of the carriers in the 2nd Brilloin zone.