Pressure effect on the electrical resistance of SrSi2

Electrical resistance measurements at temperatures ranging from 4.2 to 300 K and pressures ranging from 0 to 3.6 GPa indicate that pressurization reduces the energy gap Eg with a pressure coefficient, ⅆEg/ⅆP, of −8.8(4) meV/GPa. The deformation potential of Eg is estimated to be 0.50(2) eV, which is smaller than that of tetrahedrally bonded semiconductors, such as Si (1.46 eV). The reduction of Eg by pressurization is qualitatively consistent with the results of a previously reported calculation [Imai Y, Watanabe A. Intermetallics 2006;14:666].