PRESSURE DEPENDENCE OF THE RESISTIVITY OF AMORPHOUS NiZr ALLOYS

We have Pleasured the pressure variation of the room temperature resistance of a series of amorphous Ni 100-x Zr x alloys for 30 ≤ × ≤ 80. The resistance changes linearly with pressure up to 1.2 GPa; the reduced pressure coefficient, dlnR/dP, is negative at the Zr-rich end of the concentration range but increases with the Ni content, becoming positive near x = 34. The Young's modulus and the Poisson's ratio also vary systematically with x, with the result that the reduced volume coefficient of resistivity, dlnp/dlnV, increases monotonically across the alloy series. In spite of this simple variation, the correlation with the thermopower parameter, predicted by the Faber-Ziman theory, breaks down with decreasing Zr concentration.