Thermal and Electrical Resistivity of Tellurium at Low Temperatures

Abstract

Measurements are reported of the electrical and thermal resistivity between 2°K and room temperature of high-purity tellurium rods prepared by zone refining. The maximum thermal conductivity in the case of a single crystal of 3-mm diameter is about 10 watts/cm deg at 4°K; analysis of the measurements suggests that in the specimens used the thermal conductivity—due predominantly to lattice waves—is limited by scattering at grain boundaries or dislocations for temperatures below 4°K and at higher temperatures (∼100°K) by phonon-phonon interaction. The absence of an exponential "Umklapp" region may be explained by the presence of many isotopes in tellurium.