Electric field gradients at (111)In/(111)Cd probe atoms on A-sites in 211-MAX phases

The method of perturbed angular correlation (PAC) was applied to selected MAX phases with 211 stoichiometry. Radioactive (111)In ions were implanted in order to measure the electric field gradients (EFG) in the key compounds Ti(2)InC and Zr(2)InC to determine the strength and symmetry of the EFG at the In-site. Further PAC studies in the In-free MAX phases Ti(2)AlN, Nb(2)AlC, Nb(2)AsC and Cr(2)GeC were performed to confirm that the In probes occupy the A-site as well. The strength of the EFG, with a quadrupole coupling constant ν(Q) between 250 and 300 MHz in these phases, is quite similar to the ones found in Ti(2)InC with ν(Q) = 292(1) MHz and in Zr(2)InC with ν(Q) = 344(1) MHz, respectively. Different annealing behavior was observed whereas in all cases a linear decrease of ν(Q) with increasing measuring temperatures was found. The experimental results are also in excellent agreement with those predicted by ab initio calculations using the APW+lo method implemented in the WIEN2k code. This study shows in an exceptional manner that (111)In?→?(111)Cd atoms are suitable probes to investigate the local surrounding at the A-site in 211-MAX phases.     

Surface composition of Pt25Ni75(111) investigated by ISS and STM

Summary Ion scattering spectroscopy results show Pt enrichment in the topmost atomic layers of a Pt₂₅Ni₇₅(111) single crystal due to preferential sputtering. The increased lattice constant caused thereby leads to subsurface lattice mismatch dislocations, which have been studied by scanning tunneling microscopy. Agreement is found for the Pt concentration estimated from the density of dislocations and the results obtained by ISS. Thermal annealing induces further segregation of Pt in the topmost atomic layer. The composition of the subsurface layers has been studied and a strong dependence on the annealing temperature has been found. The observed Pt enrichment in the first monolayer for the thermodynamic equilibrium state agrees well with a thermodynamic theory.