Study on temperature dependence of resistivity in liquid In–Sn alloy

Abstract

The electrical resistivity of liquid In-Sn alloy was measured by a dc four-probe method. In a relatively low-temperature zone above liquidus, resistivity changes discontinuously; only the changing trend is altered, whereas resistivity changes sharply in the high-temperature zone and the changing pattern is completely different from the ones at low temperature. The unusual change of resistivity reflects the alteration of the mean free path L 0 of conduction electrons and also the electron transport properties. Consequently, we assume that structural changes might occur in the continuous heating process. Transition temperatures are different for In-Sn melts with various compositions. The resistivity behaviour of eutectic composition is distinguished from others and its transition temperature is the lowest.

Temperature dependences of structure and physical properties of eutectic InSn49.1 melt

“…There is a notable peak on the Q À1 -T curve around 760 C, which is hundreds of degrees above the melting point. The -T curves exhibit a non-linear manner within 620-860 C, which is in good agreement with the results of another study [18]. The thermopower of the melt also increases non-linearly with the elevation of temperature, and the temperature range with anomalous change resembles well that seen in internal friction and resistivity measurement.…”

Are there phase transitions in liquid metallic alloys?

“…1) Many anomalies have been observed in the curve of resistivity versus temperature both in the pure metals (that has never been reported) and in alloys. A change of the slope of the apparent resistivity occurs on all the first heating curves like observed by ref [1] to [7]. Even taking high purity metals gives rise to phenomena that we attributed to gases.…”

“…The question arises if such behaviour may be explained by purely experimental problems or if we must invoke a new physical phenomenon. The object of this work is to arbitrate between a "phase transition" in the liquid state as claimed by ref [1] to [7] and experimental phenomena like liquid concentration homogeneity or/and release of bubbles…. Among the different possible experimental problems, the most encountered is the release of gases which can be dissolved or/and adsorbed or/and resulting from an oxide or hydroxide decomposition or/and of bubbles due to the vapour pressure of the metals itself when approaching their boiling point.…”

Change of solidification behaviors in the superheating Sn-40wt.%Bi alloy from the viewpoint of the relaxation of properties

“…For example, by comparing the results of Refs. [11,24,25], it is clear to see that the electrical resistivity behaviors of In-Sn liquid during heating process are in good accordance with those of internal friction and X-ray diffraction. Therefore, the direct current four-probe technique was also used in this paper to study the evolution of the electrical resistivity of Sn-40wt.%Bi melt with time during isothermal experiments.…”