Behavior of electrical resistivity through glass transition in Pd40Cu30Ni10P20 metallic glass

In situ electrical resistivity was measured around glass transition temperature in a Pd40Cu30Ni10P20 glassy metal. The glassy sample was first heated beyond the eutectic temperature Tm=804 K after crystallization and melted at 973 K completely. Then, the melt was cooled to room temperature. In the solidification process, the crystallization was suppressed and the change in the electrical resistivity associated with glass transition was measured for the cooling process. In the temperature range between room temperature and 650 K in the supercooled liquid region, the behavior of the electrical resistivity was in a good agreement for the heating and the cooling processes. This suggests that the variation of the electrical resistivity around glass transition temperature is an inherent physical phenomenon rather than the nano-crystallization or the amorphous phase separation.