Galvanomagnetic and thermoelectric properties of BiTeBr and BiTeI single crystals and their electronic structure

BiTeI and BiTeBr single crystals are synthesized by the Bridgman method, and their galvanomagnetic and thermoelectrical properties are investigated. Both semiconductors have n -type conductivity. The thermoelectric efficiency of BiTeBr is much higher than that of BiTeI, which is related mainly to a larger See-beck coefficient for the former compound. For both crystals, the band structure is calculated from the density-functional theory. It is shown that both compounds are semiconductors with an indirect energy band gap.