Magnetic and electrical transport properties of amorphous Zr-Fe alloys

Amorphous Zr1sub(-)sub(x)Fesub(chi) samples were prepared in the composition range 0.2 chi 0.9 either by means of vapour deposition or melt spinning. The electrical resistivity was determined in the range 4.2 - 300 K. Negative temperature coefficients were observed in the whole concentration range, The extended Ziman theory (diffraction model) was found to be able to explain these results only if the effective valence of the Fe atoms involves not only s electrons but also electrons. The magnetic properties and the 57Fe Moessbauer effect of the Zr1sub(-)sub(x)Fesub(x) alloys were studied in the range 4.2-300 K. The Fe-rich alloys are ferromagnetic. The Fe moment vanishes in alloys of an Fe concentration lower than about 50 at%. In most alloys (x 0.8) the Curie temperature is below room temperature and continuously decreases with Zr concentration. By means of Moessbauer spectroscopy and magnetic measurements it is shown that compositional short-range order (CSRO) is present to a higher degree in melt-spun alloys than in vapour-deposited alloys. The effect of sign and magnitude of the heat of solution on CSRO and the magnetic properties is discussed. (orig.)