Pressure effect on the transport properties of the narrow-gap semiconductor FeSb2
Electrons in solids carry the charge (electrical current) and the heat (thermal current), which also correlate with each other, known as thermoelectric effect. The Seebeck effect is the representative example of the thermoelectric effect. Materials that exhibit large Seebeck coefficient are of particular interest in both fundamental and applied physics.
Here we have examined a pressure effect on the transport properties of the narrow-gap semiconductor FeSb2, in which a colossal Seebeck coefficient of -45 mV/K has been reported recently. From the analysis of magnetotransport tensor, we find that the energy gap in this material shows a negligibly-small pressure dependence, in contrast to that expected in correlated Kondo insulators. Our present results thus provide a valuable knowledge to understand underlying mechanism of the anomalous Seebeck coefficient in FeSb2.
"Origin of the energy gap in the narrow-gap semiconductor FeSb2 revealed by high-pressure magnetotransport measurements"
by Hidefumi Takahashi, Ryuji Okazaki, Ichiro Terasaki, Yukio Yasui
Phys. Rev. B 88 (2013) 165205.
(Figure) Transport property of FeSb2 on pressure.