Electrical Resistivity and Thermoelectric Power of Lattice Defects in Metals

Abstract

The electrical resistivity $\Delta \rho$ and the thermoelectric power $\Delta S$ of lattice defects in metals consist of a term which depends on the density of the electron states and the electron velocity, and a term which is a function of the electron-scattering cross section of the defects. In metals with an anisotropic Fermi surface, calculations of $\Delta \rho$ and $\Delta S$ can be improved considerably if the term depending only on the geometry of the Fermi surface is taken from an experiment which measures its average value over the Fermi surface, rather than from the free-electron model. Calculations of $\Delta \rho$ and $\Delta S$, in which the Fermi-surface term was obtained from the experimentally determined electric size effects, were carried out for vacancies in gold. The term containing the electron-scattering cross section was calculated with the free-electron approximation. The values of $\Delta \rho$ and $\Delta S$ obtained in this way are in good agreement with the experimental results. The value of $\Delta S$ calculated by using the Fermi-surface term from the free-electron approximation deviates appreciably from the experimental value.