Magnetic and electrical properties of a stable Zn-Mg-Ho icosahedral quasicrystal

We investigated the electrical resistivity and the magnetism of heavy-rare- earth-based Zn60Mg30Ho10 F-type icosahedral quasicrystals in the temperatur e region between 2 K and room temperature below 80 kOe in magnetic field. T he maximum value of the electrical resistivity is 159 mu Omega cm which is comparatively lower than other quasicrystal systems. Below 15 K, the magnet ic-field dependence exhibits a magnetoresistance maximum which has not been observed in quasicrystals studied to date, and the temperature dependence shows a resistance minimum. The temperature dependence of the magnetic susc eptibility follows, a Curie-Weiss law between 10 K and room temperature cor responding to the effective number of Bohr magneton 10.6 for every Ho atom in the sample. The earlier mentioned anomalies are considered to be related to the dense and large magnetic moments located at the quasiperiodic latti ce. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.