Abstract
It is shown that the magnitude of the Seebeck coefficient of a semiconductor has a maximum value that is close to one-half the energy gap divided by eT. An expression for the position of the Fermi level at which the Seebeck coefficient has a maximum or minimum value is derived, with account taken of the mobility and effective mass ratios. It is concluded that measurement of the Seebeck coefficient as a function of temperature on any novel semiconductor is one of the simplest ways of estimating its band gap.
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Goldsmid, H.J., Sharp, J.W. Estimation of the thermal band gap of a semiconductor from seebeck measurements. J. Electron. Mater. 28, 869–872 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-999-0211-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-999-0211-y