Transport and magnetic properties of icosahedral and glassy Pd-U-Si alloys

The glassy phase of ${\mathrm{Pd}}_{58.8}$ ${\mathrm{U}}_{20.6}$ ${\mathrm{Si}}_{20.6}$ alloys can be transformed into an icosahedral quasicrystalline phase by thermal annealing. Electrical transport properties of samples undergoing different degrees of glassy-to-icosahedral phase transformation have been measured. The icosahedral phase has an electrical resistivity of ∼220 μΩ cm at room temperature and a negative temperature coefficient of resistivity. The short electronic mean free path is discussed. At low temperature, the negative magnetoresistivity is attributed to magnetic scattering effects. The low-field ac susceptibility as a function of temperature exhibits a spin-glass-type transition which is not suppressed by a dc magnetic field.