Abstract
The occupied and unoccupied electronic structures of disordered alloys are studied by valence-band photoemission, bremsstrahlung isochromat spectroscopy (BIS), and x-ray absorption near-edge spectroscopy (XANES). The occupied partial spectral weights (PSW’s) of Au and Pd states are obtained from the valence-band photoemission spectra using synchrotron radiation by taking the matrix-element effect into account. We use the Cooper minimum phenomenon of the Pd states with the measured ratios of photoionization cross sections. The Pd PSW’s are found to form a virtual bound state in the Pd-diluted alloy but become broader as the Pd concentration increases due to the hybridization. On the other hand, Au states show the common-band behavior due to the appreciable mixing with Pd states, while Au states retain their sharp structure and show the split-band behavior. These experimental PSW’s of Au-Pd alloys are in good qualitative agreement with the results of recent self-consistent-field coherent-potential-approximation calculations. The comparison of the experimental Pd PSW of Au-Pd with those of other Pd–noble-metal alloys clearly shows that in noble-metal-rich alloys, the mixing of Pd states with host bands increases in the order of Ag-Pd, Au-Pd, Cu-Pd systems. This trend results in the split-band for Au-Pd and Ag-Pd in Pd diluted alloys, but gives the common band for Cu-Pd. The unoccupied Pd states of disordered alloys obtained from BIS and XANES spectra show the gradual filling of Pd states as the Au concentration is increased, but it is not completely filled even in the Pd-diluted alloy.
- Received 20 January 1998
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.58.9817
©1998 American Physical Society