Electron transport properties of amorphous Mg80.4Cu19.6 alloy

The Hall coefficient, thermoelectric power and electrical resistivity of the liquid quenched amorphous Mg_80.4Cu_19.6 alloy have been measured over a wide temperature range below room temperature. The 2k_F value deduced from the observed Hall coefficient agrees well with the free electron value. The thermoelectric power is positive and increases linearly with increasing temperature above approximately 180 K. The downward deviation is evident in the lower temperature range. This behaviour is in sharp contrast with the negative thermoelectric power observed in the amorphous Mg-Zn alloy. Nevertheless, the overall temperature variation of the electrical resistivity resembles the previously reported data of the amorphous Mg_72.5Zn_27.5 alloy in various aspects; (1) the room temperature resistivity value, (2) the negative TCR and its magnitude, (3) the appearance of a broad maximum at about 50 K and a minimum at about 10 K and (4) T²-dependence in the range of 10～30 K and $\text{-(T-T}{}_{\max }\text{)}{}^{\mathrm{<mtext>3</mtext><mtext>2</mtext>}}$-dependence in the range of 50～220 K. The results are discussed in connection with $\text{2k}{}_{\mathrm{F}}\text{K}{}_{\mathrm{P}}$ criterion and Mooij correlation.