Electrophysical properties of solid solutions of silver in PbTe

The thermopower coefficient α0 and the electrical conductivity σ of Pb1 − xAgxTe solid solutions, where x = (0–0.007), are measured at T = 300 K. The hole concentration p is calculated. All samples are of the p type. With increasing silver content, α0 decreases, while p and σ increase. For undoped crystals, α0 = 251.0 μV/K, p = 1.1 × 1018 cm−3, and σ = 165 Ω−1 cm−1. At the silver-solubility limit for x = 0.007, α0 = 193.8 μV/K, p = 2.3 × 1018 cm−3, and σ = 216 Ω−1 cm−1. The hole concentration in all samples is much lower than the concentration of introduced silver atoms. The hole gas in Pb1 − xAgxTe solid solutions is weakly degenerate in the entire silver-concentration range.