Abstract
For transport phenomena such as electrical resistivity ϱ( T) or thermal resistivity W( T) the different scattering process contributions can simply be summed up to obtain the total value of ϱ or W. This is know as Mattiessen's rule. For the thermopower S( T) a more sophisticated method is necessary. Usually Kohler's rule or the Nordheim-Gorter rule is used to obtain the total value. Results from theoretical calculations for the temperature dependence of thermopower, which are based on a variational solution of the linearized Boltzmann equation, are used to discuss the different scattering contributions in case of thermopower. These results are used to analyze experimental data of thermopower for the isostructural compounds YAl 2 and GdAl 2. For two different heat-treated samples of the nonmagnetic YAl 2 compound, ϱ( T) and S( T) have been measured to separate the impurity and the phonon part of the total electron diffusion thermopower. From a comparison of S( T) for YAl 2 to those for the magnetic GdAl 2 the magnetic contribution has been estimated.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
