Transition from weak to strong electronic localization in icosahedral AlPdRe

In this paper we investigate when the transition from weak to strong localization takes place in icosahedral AlPdRe. This was made by determining an upper limit of the residual resistance ratio, RRR = ϱ4.2 K/ϱ295 K, where theories of quantum interference effects (QIE) can account for the magnetoresistance in these materials. It was found that QIE can describe the magnetoresistance in samples with RRR up to about 10. For samples with higher RRR several observations strongly suggest that other transport mechanisms have to be considered.