Effect of electron concentration on the thickness dependences of the thermoelectric properties of PbTe quantum wells

Abstract

Oscillations were detected in the dependences of the thermoelectric properties (electrical conductivity, thermoelectric power, the Hall coefficient, charge carrier mobility, and power factor) on the PbTe layer thickness d (d=2-200 nm) in [001] KCl/PbTe/EuS quantum wells. The existence of oscillations as a function of d is attributed to quantum size effects, which manifest themselves in PbTe quantum wells at sufficiently small d. An increase in electron concentration in PbTe quantum wells leads to a more distinct manifestation of the oscillations, a shift of the extrema points as well as to an enhancement of the power factor.