Electronic structure and electron transport properties of quasicrystals and approximant crystals in AlTM and MgGaAlZn alloy systems

Abstract The XPS valence band spectra, electronic specific heat coefficients, electrical resistivities and magnetic susceptibilities have been measured for the MgGaAlZn, AlCoNi, AlCuV and AlMnSi quasicrystals and approximant crystals. Stable quasicrystals have a small electronic specific heat coefficient. The resistivity at 300 K for the (3/2−2/1−2/1) and (2/1−2/1−2/1) approximants in the MgGaAlZn system is found to be comparable with that of the corresponding quasicrystal, whereas that of the (1/1−1/1−1/1) approximant crystal is only 60–70%. By contrast, the resistivity in the AlMnSi approximant is about five times larger than that in the corresponding quasicrystal and exceeds 1000 μΩ cm. Its large resistivity is ascribed to a small density of states at E F .