Internal field emission nature of the fine structure of tunnel spectra in icosahedral quasicrystals

Calorimetric and tunnel data for the icosahedral phases of the Al–Cu–Fe system have been jointly analyzed. It has been found that the field-dependent part of the tunnel conductance can be represented as the sum of elementary terms similar in nature to thermal Schottky anomalies. As a result, the features of the fine structure of tunnel spectra in the form of zero-bias anomalies, peaks, and humps can be due to the internal field emission and can indicate a wide distribution of two-level electron traps in the electronic structure of quasicrystals. It was previously assumed that these features constitute a direct image of the density of single-electron states of the conduction band.     

Investigation of quasicrystalline Al<Subscript>62.5</Subscript>Cu<Subscript>25</Subscript>Fe<Subscript>12.5</Subscript> and crystalline β-Al<Subscript>50</Subscript>Cu<Subscript>33</Subscript>Fe<Subscript>17</Subscript> alloys by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy

The electronic spectra of the valence band and core levels of the surface of polygrain alloys with the icosahedral structure and the β-(CsCl)-type solid solution of Al₅₀Cu₃₃Fe₁₇ were investigated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The obtained XPS spectra of the Al_62.5Cu₂₅Fe_12.5 alloy, in comparison with those of the crystalline Al₅₀Cu₃₃Fe₁₇ alloy demonstrate narrowing and a decrease in asymmetry of the Fe2p core level and a decrease in the electron state density N(E _F ) near the Fermi level, features expected for the poorly conducting icosahedral phase. The XPS data are compared with the estimates of N(E _F ) based on the low-temperature specific heat measurements.     

Investigation of the intrinsic conductivity of Al-Cu-Fe quasicrystals in a zero-gap semiconductor model

Experimental proofs are obtained for the fact that the intrinsic conductivity of quasicrystals at low temperatures satisfies the T ^3/2 law. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 65, No. 4, 338–340 (25 February 1997)     

High-temperature heat capacity of the Al<Subscript>63</Subscript>Cu<Subscript>25</Subscript>Fe<Subscript>12</Subscript> quasicrystal

The mechanisms of energy absorption by metallic alloys with long-range aperiodic lattice order and electronic properties of marginal metals are studied. The heat capacity and linear expansion coefficient of the Al₆₃Cu₂₅Fe₁₂ icosahedral phase in the temperature range 300–1000 K are measured for the first time. Disagreement between the measured heat capacity and predictions made from the Debye model is found and analyzed. It is shown that the excess heat capacity observed at the temperatures of the experiment is fitted by Einstein’s function in the approximation T

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Θ_E.

     

Volume increase and enhanced indications of dielectric behavior during high-temperature annealing of quenched quasicrystal-forming alloys

A volume increase is observed at the ordering temperatures of icosahedral phases in samples of quenched alloys. The effect is strongest in the systems that are closest to the boundary of the transition to the insulator phase. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 67, No. 3, 190–195 (10 February 1998)     

Structural state of β-solid solution in rapidly quenched alloys of Al50Cu50− x Fex (x = 17, 13, 6) and ordered η1-AlCu phase formation

Conventional transmission and scanning electron microscopy were employed to investigate the structural state and phase transformations of the β(CsCl)-solid solution in rapidly quenched alloys of Al₅₀Cu_{50? x} Fe _x with respect to the Cu/Fe ratio. We studied the alloys from the central (x?=?17 and 13) and border areas (x?=?6) of the β-solid solution homogeneity region. The structural state of the β-solid solution was characterized by premartensitic structural instability of the bcc lattice for x?=?17 and 13, and the presence of combined short-range order accompanied by the intense diffuse scattering for x?=?6. This short-range order can be described by the ordering of atoms and vacancies in the planes (111)β and ω-like atomic displacements (longitudinally polarized waves of displacement in the direction of the [111]β). The structural state of the β-solid solution with the combined short-range order was regarded as a pretransition state for the revealed transformation with homogeneous precipitation of the nanodispersed phase. The precipitation phase was attributed to an orthorhombic Al(Cu, Fe) η₁-phase, belonging to the family of ordered β-based phases with orientation relationships of [100]_η1 ||[110]_β, [010]_η1 ||[110]_β, [001]_η1 ||[001]_β. We concluded that the atomic structure of the η1-phase is characterized by ordering, accompanied by ω-like atomic displacements of the adjacent layers in 3d metals (Cu, Fe) and aluminum.     

Planar defects in the icosahedral phase in quasicrystal-forming AlCuFe alloys

Electron microscopy has revealed that, upon the formation of a stable icosahedral (i) AlCuFe phase, there arise a large number of planar defects. The revealed defects are nanometer-sized coherent intergrowths of the P1-pentagonal approximant. It has been found that the formation of these defects is the result of a nonequilibrium intermediate transformation. The intergrowths are located in the planes with the fivefold symmetry axis and give rise to an elastic-strain state of the i-phase. Analysis of the diffraction contrast has revealed the presence of phason and phonon atomic displacements due to the mismatch between the quasiperiodic (i-phase) and periodic (P1-phase) lattices. The formed structure exhibits a higher electrical resistance as compared to the i-phase and has been considered as a model state of the imperfect icosahedral phase with preferred phonon displacements.     

Possible Tc-X diagrams of superconductivity in binary systems

Elementary dependences T_c(X) whose superposition describes a number of complex experimental situations are shown to exist. The concept of superconductivity-state diagrams is introduced, nine main types of such diagrams are being presented.     

Comparative study of the heat capacity of icosahedral quasicrystals in solid and liquid states

The heat capacity of icosahedral quasicrystals Al₆₃Cu₂₅Fe₁₂ and Al₆₂Cu_25.5Fe_12.5 has been studied at high temperatures up to 1700 K, which is by almost 400 K higher than the melting point of the material. It has been shown that the melt exhibits an excess heat capacity with respect to that determined by the Dulong-Petit law and that is a direct extension of the excess heat capacity of the solid state. It has been concluded that the excess heat capacity is related, as a whole, to the short-range order in the quasicrystal structure. This circumstance allows the identification of the orbital hybridization as the most probable mechanism of formation of the pseudogap in the electronic structure of the quasicrystals.     

Ordering effect on the mechanical,electronic and magnetic properties of the β-based non-canonical approximant phases: β-Al50Cu33Fe17, η-Al50Cu44Fe6 and φ-Al47.5Cu49.5Fe3

Abstract

Using transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction, we established that the ordered η1-Al₅₀Cu₄₄Fe₆ and φ-Al_47.5Cu_49.5Fe₃ (Fmm2) alloys with nano-sized domain structure are formed by slowly cooling, whereas β-solid solutions with a short-range order were found in quenched states. The φ′-modification which exhibits the additional long-period superstructure was also observed in Al_47.5Cu_49.5Fe₃. The studies of low temperature magnetic susceptibility and heat capacity did not reveal any another phase transitions in these alloys. The indentation test showed that hardness and Young’s modulus consistently grow as β-Al₅₀Cu₃₃Fe₁₇ → η1-Al₅₀Cu₄₄Fe₆ → (φ+φ′)-Al_47.5Cu_49.5Fe₃ and approach to those in icosahedral phase. The same trend in the Young’s modulus was obtained for alloys containing β-solid solution with a short-range order. Ab initio calculations, however, predicted the opposite tendency in cubic β-Al₅₀Cu_50?xFe_x with a decrease in x, which was explained by the weakening of the covalent Fe 3d – Al sp bonding. This discrepancy between the results for β- and ordered phases, we related to a crucial effect of ordering which is accompanied by a progressive distortion of cubic local structure in the series β-Al₅₀Cu₃₃Fe₁₇ → η1-Al₅₀Cu₄₄Fe₆ → φ-Al_47.5Cu_49.5Fe_3. As we demonstrated for η-Al(Cu, Fe), these distortions lead to the strengthening of the both covalent Fe–Al and Cu–Al bonds and the higher modules.