  The effect of K and K-Na substitution for Pb atoms in the rock salt lattice
of PbTe was investigated to test a hypothesis for development of resonant
states in the valence band that may enhance the thermoelectric power. We
combined high temperature Hall-effect, electrical conductivity and thermal
conductivity measurements to show that K-Na co-doping do not form resonance
states but2 can control the energy difference of the maxima of the two primary
valence sub-bands in PbTe. This leads to an enhanced interband interaction with
rising temperature and a significant rise in the thermoelectric figure of merit
of p-type PbTe. The experimental data can be explained by a combination of a
single and two-band model for the valence band of PbTe depending on hole
density that varies in the range of 1-15 x 10^19 cm^-3.
