RESISTANCE-PEAK ANOMALY IN METALLIC GLASSES - DEPENDENCE ON CURRENTS AND CONTACT ARRANGEMENT

A peak in the electrical resistance has been observed previously by Lindqvist, Nordstrom, and Rapp in some superconducting amorphous metals. In this paper we report on further variations of the contact arrangement and on variations of the measuring current over a larger range than used before. It is found that the resistance peak is independent of transport current for low currents and, above a threshold value, decreases with increasing current and slightly shifts toward lower temperatures. The peak is not observed in contact arrangements where current and potential contacts are on one line.