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 (m 3 /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.