Abstract
In order to test for the true intrinsic properties of icosahedral quasicrystals, we performed investigations of magnetism, electrical resistivity, thermoelectric power, and thermal conductivity on a single-crystalline quasicrystal grown by the Czochralski technique. This sample shows superior quasicrystallinity, an almost phason-free structure, and excellent thermal stability. Magnetic measurements revealed that the sample is best classified as a weak paramagnet. Electrical resistivity exhibits a negative temperature coefficient with and , whereas the thermopower exhibits a sign reversal at . Simultaneous analysis of the resistivity and thermopower using spectral-conductivity model showed that the Fermi energy is located at the minimum of the pseudogap in the spectral conductivity . Thermal conductivity is anomalously low for an alloy of metallic elements. Comparing the physical properties of the investigated single-crystalline quasicrystal to literature reports on polycrystalline material, we conclude that there are no systematic differences between the high-quality single-crystalline and polycrystalline quasicrystals, except for the hindering of long-range transport by grain boundaries in the polycrystalline material. The so far reported physical properties of appear to be intrinsic to this family of icosahedral quasicrystals, regardless of the form of the material.
- Received 18 April 2007
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.76.054201
©2007 American Physical Society