Quenched Resistance in Dilute Gold-Tin and Gold-Silver Alloys

Abstract

In order to investigate the effect of impurities on the resistance quenched into gold wires, dilute alloys of gold-silver and gold-tin were quenched and the resulting data compared with that for pure gold. Data on the resistance quenched into 0.002-in.-diam pure gold wires quenched in helium and air are presented and compared to previously published data on the resistance quenched into 0.016-in.-diam gold wires quenched in water and glycol. The resistance quenched into gold-0.01 and 0.1 at.%-silver alloys is the same, within experimental error, as that quenched into pure gold. The resistance quenched into gold-1.0 at.%-silver alloys agrees with the pure-gold data for high-quench temperatures, but appears to fall below the pure-gold data at low temperatures. It is suggested that the result is consistent with a vacancy-silver binding energy in gold of less than 0.15 eV. The resistance quenched into gold-0.03, 0.1 and 0.3 at.%-tin alloys is greater than that quenched into pure gold for quench temperatures below 700°C. In the vicinity of 700°C the resistance quenched into the two lowest tin-concentration alloys is indistinguishable from the pure-gold data, and the resistance quenched into the gold-0.3 at.%-tin alloy actually appears to fall below the pure-gold data. Unfortunately, the results obtained are inconsistent with the usual model proposed for such alloys; the data cannot be described solely in terms of a vacancy-impurity binding energy, and no value for such a binding energy can be deduced. Some cautionary points concerning the interpretation of previously published binding energies between vacancies and impurities are noted.