Anomalous behavior of electrical resistivity in glass transition region of a bulk Pd₄₀Ni₄₀P₂₀ metallic glass

The electrical resistivity of a bulk Pd₄₀Ni₄₀P₂₀ metallic glass was measured as a function of temperature. This glass showed a positive slope, dρ/dT = (1.28 ± 0.03) × 10^-4 μΩm/K, with a residual resistivity ρ₃₀₀ of 1.29 ± 0.03 μΩm at room temperature. Also, the change in the resistivity due to the glass transition was carefully investigated, but, no variation in the neighborhood of glass transition temperature was observed. Bulk glasses Pd₄₀Cu₃Ni₃₇P₂₀ and Pd₄₃Ni₃₇P₂₀ with slightly different composition were also prepared for a comparison. In case of these glasses, the slope, dρ/dT, varied at the glass transition, i.e. the resistivity decreased after the glass transition for the former and increased for the latter. The slope of the resistivity curve measured for the Pd₄₀Ni₄₀P₂₀ melt was larger than that of the glass. Thus, the extrapolated resistivity to higher temperature did not connect smoothly with the resistivity of the liquid phase.