Abstract
Electronic transport properties and specific heats of ordered icosahedral phase alloys in the Al-Cu-Ru-Si and Al-Cu-Fe systems are examined, and comparison with high-quality rhombohedral (3/2) approximant phase samples of Al-Cu-Fe is made. Strong temperature dependence and sensitivity to composition changes of these properties are observed. The similarity of transport properties between the icosahedral (i) and rhombohedral (r) phases of is noted. The results can be qualitatively interpreted in terms of band structure. There appears to be sufficient evidence for a rapidly varying conductivity spectrum σ(E) in the ordered i phases. However, important questions concerning the physics of these semimetallic quasicrystals remain to be answered.
- Received 16 October 1992
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.47.5670
©1993 American Physical Society