Electrical transport properties of the aluminum-ruthenium icosahedral phase

We have measured the electrical resistivity of single-phase icosahedral aluminum-ruthenium thin films and of a primarily amorphous film at the same composition. The magnitude and temperature coefficient of resistivity between 4.2 K and room temperature are characteristic of disordered metals, and are nearly the same for both the primarily amorphous and icosahedral samples. We have examined icosahedral phase samples with grain sizes that differ by an order of magnitude, but see little difference in the electrical transport properties. We find that these results are consistent with recently proposed theories of electron transport in the icoshedral phase.