Temperature dependence of electrical resistivity of Zr–Cu–Al–Ni–Nb bulk metallic glasses below 300 K

The temperature dependence of electrical resistivitiy of Zr55Cu30−XAl10Ni5NbX (numbers indicate at.% X = 0, 1, 3 and 5) bulk metallic glasses was investigated below 300 K. For the Zr55Cu(30−X)Al10Ni5NbX alloys with X = 1, 3 and 5 consisting of nanocrystals dispersed in the amorphous matrix, the electrical resistivities decreased abruptly below approximately 2.3–2.9 K. For the amorphous Zr55Cu30Al10Ni5 alloy, the electrical resistivitiy increased with decreasing temperature from 300 K up to approximately 2.0 K. The significant decrease of electrical resistivities of nanocrystal-dispersed amorphous alloys was attributable to the zero-resistivity effect of superconducting phases contained in the alloys. The Nb addition to Zr55Cu30Al10Ni5 metallic glass was found to precipitate superconducting phases within the amorphous matrix.