Bismuth-antimony alloys and their application in microwave engineering

Bismuth, antimony and their alloys are typical representatives of a class of semi-metals, the electric conductivity of which is 10/sup 2/-10/sup 3/ times lower than usual metals conducting well an electrical current. The alloys of bismuth with antimony have semiconductor properties in a wide range of structures at temperatures below 77 K. However, they are insulators at temperatures close to 0 K. Presently the semi-metal alloys of BiSb have wide application in thermoelectric generators and refrigerators. They have appeared a convenient means for the study of the distribution of electromagnetic waves in solid-state plasma. The semi-metals are also prospective materials for low temperature electronics. Previously the opportunity of using semi-metals of BiSb with percentage Bi and Sb from 8 % up to 25 % was shown as having high-sensitivity to UHF radiation where the thermoelectric effect is used. The authors consider some questions concerning the further improvement of UHF radiation detectors based on semi-metals with the purpose of increasing their sensitivity, while improving the stability of their operation and stability to external climatic influences.