Models for lattice thermal expansion and thermal conductivity for ternary (ANB2+NC27-N) tetrahedral semiconductors

In this paper we have presented two expressions relating the lattice thermal expansion coefficient (alpha(L), 10(-6) K-1) and lattice thermal conductivity (K in m W (cm K)(-1)) for A(II)B(IV)C(2)(V) and A(I)B(III)C(2)(VI) semiconductor compounds with the product of ionic charge (Z(A)Z(B)Z(C)), melting temperature (T-m) and nearest neighbour distance (d in angstrom). The lattice thermal expansion coefficient and lattice thermal conductivity of these solids exhibits a linear relationship when plotted on a log-log scale against the melting temperature, but fall on different straight lines according to the product of ionic charge of the compounds. We have applied the modified relations on these solids and found a better agreement with experimental data as compared to the values evaluated by previous researchers so far. The results for lattice thermal expansion coefficient differ from experimental values by an amount up to 5.4% for CdSiP2 and for lattice thermal conductivity the values differ form experiment by an amount up to 3.2% for AgInTe2. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.