Electrical resistivity of coatings of quasicrystalline and crystalline phases of the Ti—Zr—Ni system in the temperature range 4–300 K

Abstract

The temperature dependence of the electrical resistivity in the temperature range from 4.4 to 300 K for Ti41Zr41Ni18 (at. %) thin coatings of different crystal perfection and phase composition was studied. The coatings were deposited by magnetron sputtering with subsequent vacuum annealing in various modes ensuring the formation of several heterophase combinations, which included 1/1 and 2/1 approximation phases, a quasicrystalline icosahedral phase, a Laves phase (Ti, Zr)2Ni, and an α-Ti (Zr) solid solution. The structure before and after annealing was studied by X-ray diffractometry. It was established that coatings with a predominant content of amorphous, quasicrystalline, or approximant 2/1 phases have a temperature coefficient of resistance less than zero, while samples with a predominance of crystalline phases demonstrate characteristic metallic conductivity. The temperature dependence of the electrical resistivity of the Ti41Zr41Ni18 quasicrystalline coating turned out to be similar to the dependence in bulk samples of the Ti40Zr40Ni20 composition. The electrical resistivity of the approximant 2/1 phase with a low content of the additional Laves phase in the film has an almost constant value in the entire investigated temperature range.