Lattice Thermal Conductivity of Some Copper Alloys

Abstract

The thermal and electrical conductivities of three copper-zinc alloys annealed at high temperatures, and of two copper-gold alloys, were measured over a wide range of low temperatures, and their lattice component of thermal conductivity was deduced in the range 2?90 °K. It appears that the high lattice thermal resistance at liquid helium temperatures previously found in copper-zinc alloys is a function of solute content rather than of concentration of conduction electrons and that this resistance can be reduced by high-temperature annealing.