Fermi surfaces of rare-earth nickel borocarbides

Abstract

A full three-dimensional study of the Fermi surface ofLuNi2B2C is presented, using positron annihilation. The previously identified nesting feature, part of acomplex multiply connected Fermi surface sheet, is clearly revealed and observed to extendacross approximately 20% of the Brillouin zone. A cuboidal Fermi surface sheet is alsofound, in agreement with de Haas–van Alphen observations. The Fermi surfacetopology of the rare-earth nickel borocarbides is shown to vary little for rare-earthelements such as Er, Tm and Yb, suggesting that this topology is broadly common.