Substitutional effect on the transport properties of Er4Si5 Original Research Article

The effects of Ge partial substitution onto Si site of Er5Si4 alloy were investigated by means of thermal and electrical transport measurements. Temperature-dependent electrical resistivity (ρ), Seebeck coefficient (S), and thermal conductivity (κ) measurements from 7 to 300 K were performed on a series of Er5Si4−xGex alloys with x varying from 0 to 2. Noticeable anomalies were observed at the magnetic phase transition in Er5Si4 alloy in these transport measurements. It was also found that the resistivity of Er5Si4−xGex alloys gradually increases and the Curie temperature TC decreases upon replacing Si with Ge. No sign of anomalous feature was detected in Er5Si2Ge2, indicating that the magnetic phase transition may be suppressed at this substitution level.