Electronic structure of amorphous Zr based alloys with V, Cr and Mn studied by photoelectron spectroscopy and bandstructure calculations

Abstract

The electronic structure of the amorphous alloys V 36Zr 64, Cr 30Zr 70 and Mn 30Zr 70 has been studied by photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS, XPS) and bandstructure calculations for the ordered analogs. The valence band photoelectron spectra and the calculated density of states reveal a large contribution to the state density at the Fermi level from the 3d metal. This behavior is characteristic of Zr based alloys with early 3d transition metals and differs from alloys with higher 3d electron numbers in which the 3d band is located at higher energies. The implications of the high density of states at E F of the amorphous Zr-(V, Cr, Mn) alloys for magnetism and the occurrence of superconductivity is discussed.