Behavior of electrical resistivity through glass transition in Pd40Cu30Ni10P20 metallic glass

In situ electrical resistivity was measured around glass transition tempera ture in a Pd40Cu30Ni10P20 glassy metal. The glassy sample was first heated beyond the eutectic temperature T-m = 804K after crystallization and melted at 973 Ii completely. Then, the melt was cooled to room temperature. In th e solidification process. the crystallization was suppressed and the change in the electrical resistivity associated with glass transition was measure d for the cooling process. In the temperature range between room temperatur e and 650 K in the supercooled liquid region, the behavior of the electrica l resistivity was in a good agreement for the heating and the cooling proce sses. This suggests that the variation of the electrical resistivity around glass transition temperature is an inherent physical phenomenon rather tha n the nano-crystallization or the amorphous phase separation. (C) 2001 Else vier Science B.V. All rights reserved.