Electrical and galvanomagnetic properties of AuAl₂+6%Cu intermetallic compounds at low temperatures

The AuAl₂ intermetallic compounds are of substantial interest in view of their application potential. The investigated intermetallics AuAl₂+6%Cu were prepared from fine powders of AuAl2 and Cu by vacuum sputtering on a glass substrate and consisted of films with a thickness of about one micrometer. The films were annealed. The temperature and field dependence of the electroresistivity, the magnetoresistivity and the Hall effect of AuAl2+6%Cu films were measured in the temperature interval from 4.2 to 100 K and at magnetic fields of up to 15 T. We demonstrate that the temperature dependence of the electroresistivity has a minimum at T = 20 K and a metallic behavior above this temperature. The magnetoresistivity is very small (less then 1%), positive at low temperatures and negative above 12 K. The Hall coefficient is positive, which corresponds to the holes in a one zone model with a charge carrier concentration of about 1.6 10²⁰ cm⁻³.