Electrical Resistivity of an Al-Re-Si Cubic Approximant Phase and Role of Local Environment in Electronic Transport

Abstract

AbstractIn order to gain an insight into the role of the local atomic environment in the electronic transport of the icosahedral quasicrystal, the electrical resistivity of α-AlReSi, which is the (1/1,1/1,1/1) approximant of the icosahedral phase, has been investigated. Very high resistivity and its pronounced negative temperature dependence have been observed, indicating that the electronic states of the 1/1 cubic approximant are quite similar to those of icosahedral phases. In order to further elucidate which structural entity is responsible for such anomalous transport, a comparison of the electrical resistivity between (1/1,1/1,1/1) and (1/0,1/0,1/0) approximants has been made. The typical transport behavior of icosahedral phases which is also seen in 1/1 and higher-order approximants was not observed in any of the studied 1/0 cubic approximants. The result can be regarded as an implication that the intercluster distance between the TM clusters plays a significant role in the confinement of electronic states.