THIN GOLD WIRES AS REFERENCE FOR THERMOELECTRIC-POWER MEASUREMENTS OF SMALL SAMPLES FROM 1.3-K TO 350-K

We measured the absolute thermoelectric power (TEP) of a thin gold wire between 1.3 and 350 K. Low-temperature measurements of the electrical resistivity of the wire have been performed and used to determine the Fe concentration and to discuss the low-temperature behavior of the TEP. Comparison with previous measurements on pure gold is given. With this calibration, these thin gold wires are quite suitable as reference for TEP measurements on small samples on which they can be easily bonded with thermosonic or ultrasonic bonders. More specifically these results are very convenient for thermoelectric measurements on high critical temperature superconductors, by using the relation S(T) = 5 x 10(-3) T + 38T-1 (muV K-1) as a reference for the TEP of the gold leads between 80 and 350 K.