Zero temperature coefficient and stability of electrical resistibility of Ni-Si-B amorphous alloys

The compositional dependence of the temperature coefficient of the electrical resistivity (TCR) of the Ni100-x-ySixBy (x = 8, y = 22-26 and x = 10, y= 22-24) amorphous alloys was investigated with an intention of the application of the alloys to ultra-precise resistive elements. With increasing Si + B content, sign of TCR changes from the positive to the negative. The very small absolute values of TCR less than 5x10(-6) K-1 in a temperature range of 260-333 K is obtained for the alloys with x + y = 32.3-32.5. Especially, the Ni67.7Si10B22.3 alloy exhibits an extremely small TCR of -0.8x10(-6) K-1. Furthermore, it was confirmed that the alloys exhibit a small thermoelectromotive force relative to Cu. Patterned resistive elements by using the Ni-Si-B amorphous alloys were produced experimentally. As a result in the aging at 298 K, the electrical resistance (R) of the patterned Ni68Si10B22 element increases about 5x10(-3) % for 7056 hours. However, the change of R shows a tendency to gradually saturate. It can be concluded that the Ni100-x-ySixBy amorphous alloys with x + y approximate to 32 are promising as a material for the ultra-precise resistive elements.