Abstract
We have investigated the temperature dependence of the unit-cell parameters and volume of SrRu and CaRu with the Debye-Scherrer x-ray-diffraction technique in the temperature range from 12 to 300 K. The volume of SrRu is almost constant below the ferromagnetic transition temperature of 160 K. This represents a discovery of the Invar effect in transition-metal oxides, which is known to exist in transition-metal itinerant magnets, e.g., Fe-Ni alloys. This fact suggests that the Ru electrons, which cause ferromagnetism, have a Fermi surface and form a conduction band similar to that in Invar alloys. On the other hand, the temperature dependence of the volume of CaRu can be well described by a Debye function, implying that thermal expansion is governed by phonons, and that magnetic ordering does not occur in this compound.
- Received 11 April 1996
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.54.R756
©1996 American Physical Society