Resistivity recovery in Gd5Si2.09Ge1.91 by annealing.

Irreversible change in resistivity occurs in Gd5(SixGe1-x)4 (with 0.41<x<0.575) each time the material is cycled through its first order transition temperature. This results in a progressive increase in resistivity with no apparent recovery. Results showed that the resistivity does recover if the material is left for an extended period of time at room temperature. We postulate that the recovery time decreases with temperature, and a model has been developed here to explain the recovery in resistivity when the samples are held at elevated temperatures over a period of time, and this has been verified experimentally by holding a Gd5Si2.09Ge1.91 at 360 K. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]