X-ray emission and absorption studies of silicides in relation to their electronic structure

Abstract

The valence bands and conduction bands of about 30 transition metal silicides (of which we concentrate on 4 here) have been investigated by measurements of Si X-ray emission bandsspectra, X-ray absorption spectra near the Si K (1s) edge, photoemission spectra, and Bremsstrahlung Isochromat spectra. The densities of states have also been calculated for the materials in their real crystal structures. The influence of the core hole on some spectra has been investigated using supercell calculations, a (Greens function) generalized Clogston-Wolff model, and Auger spectroscopy. A selection of results is presented to illustrate the utility of site and selective methods in investigations of the electronic structure of silicides and the nature of the "quasi-gap" of the partial density of Si p states in the region of the transition metal d bands.