Abstract
A comparative study of the filled skutterudite compounds $\mathrm{Yb}{\mathrm{Fe}}_{4}{\mathrm{Sb}}_{12}$ and $\mathrm{Ca}{\mathrm{Fe}}_{4}{\mathrm{Sb}}_{12}$ is presented. Crystal structure investigations and measurements of magnetic susceptibility, specific heat and electrical resistivity in magnetic field, and x-ray absorption spectroscopy have been performed. Almost identical structural, magnetic, and electronic properties of both compounds are observed. Electronic structure calculations support this similarity. It is concluded that ytterbium in ${\mathrm{Yb}}_{1\ensuremath{-}x}{\mathrm{Fe}}_{4}{\mathrm{Sb}}_{12}$ is stable divalent and the magnetic moments in both materials are solely due to itinerant-electron paramagnetism of the $\mathrm{Fe}\ensuremath{-}\mathrm{Sb}$ polyanion. The calcium and ytterbium iron-antimony skutterudites are nearly ferromagnetic metals and their properties are mainly governed by spin fluctuations.
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