Optical absorption and electronic structure of intermetallic compound RuIn3

The optical properties of intermetallide RuIn₃ are investigated by ellipsometry in the spectral range of 0.22–10 μm. The experimental data point to the existence of an energy gap of about 0.5 eV in the electronic spectrum of the compound. The density of the electron states and interband optical conductivity are calculated in terms of the density functional theory. The experimental and theoretical spectra of the optical conductivity are compared. It is found that the formation of basic absorption bands is caused by interband transitions of electrons of the d-band of Ru and p-band of In.