Thermoelectric power in Bi2Sr2Ca1-xPrxCu2O8+delta in a wide temperature range

Scientific conference paper We report thermopower and electrical resistance measurements of the high-temperature superconductor Bi2Sr2Ca1-xPrxCu2O8+delta (0 < x < 1) in a wide temperature range from 600 K to superconducting transition temperature (critical temperature, T-c). The transition temperature decreases with increasing x. Resistance obeys usual metallic linearity at higher temperatures, whereas at lower temperatures, before T-c (T similar to 300 K), a deviation from the linear trend is observed. Thermopower exhibits apparently non-metallic behavior - it increases with decreasing temperature and develops a broad maximum whose position and width increase with x. The results are discussed in the framework of several models present in the literature.