Designing apparatus for highly precise measurement of electrical conductivity and seebeck coefficient from 85 k to 1200 k

We describe the development of apparatus for measuring of electrical conductivity and Seebeck coefficient with high precision from 85 K to 1,200 K. Electrical resistance was measured by means of four-point probe method as a function of temperature. The temperature below 400 K was measured by using type T thermocouple in vacuum system was used and from 400 to 1,200 was measured by using Type S was applied for temperature between 400 and 1200 Kelvin in an inert gas system. With the dimensions of the specimen, the electrical resistivity (ρT) can be obtained in the unit of microohm-centimeter (μΩ - cm) and be written in polynomial, ρT = -0.3191 + 6.8 × 10^-3T - 6.0 × 10^-7 T² + 8.0 × 10^-10T³. The electrical conductivity can be obtained by taking inversion of the electrical resistivity. Seebeck coefficient (αT) can be calculated in microvolt per Kelvin as follows: αT = 1.9653 - 1.49 × 10^-2T + 9.0 × 10^-5T² - 2.0 × 10^-7T³ + 2.0 × 10^-10T⁴ - 1.0 × 10^-13T⁵ + 3.0 × 10^-17T⁶ when T is temperature in K. The Seebeck coefficient data was compared with X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) of the specimen. The result showed that our developrd apparatus yields the same as standard method when copper with purity greater than 99 percent was employed. © (2013) Trans Tech Publications, Switzerland.