Lattice Thermal Conductivity, Nernst-Ettinghausen Effect, and Specific Heat in Antimony at Low Temperature

The lattice thermal conductivity, the high-field Nernst-Ettinghausen thermoelectric coefficient, and the specific heat of antimony have been determined in the temperature range 0.4-2.4^∘{}K. Thermal-conductivity results confirm the predominance of phonon-electron normal scattering in the lowest range of temperatures with the expected T² law. The dramatic increase in the lattice thermal conductivity above 1.5^∘{}K is thought to be due to the inability of the electrons to scatter phonons with wave numbers q>2kF, where 2kF is the diameter of a charge carrier's Fermi pocket. An effective scattering Debye temperature of Θ*=(2kFqD)Θ≈25^∘K is in good agreement with experimental results. Nernst-Ettinghausen results give the total electronic density of states Z=(1.10±0.07)×10³³ erg^-1 cm^-3; the presence of a phonon-drag contribution is confirmed and discussed. The specific-heat results, C=(116.5±6.4)T+(211.0±5.3)T³+1.97±0.23)T^-2 in {μ}J (mole0ex0ex^∘K)^-1, are compared with the results of transport measurements and with recent specific-heat determinations.