Nonmagnetic Ground State in Fully Filled Pr_xFe_4Sb_<12> (x = 1.0) Synthesized under High Pressure(Condensed matter : electronic structure and electrical, magnetic, and optical properties)

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We have succeeded in synthesizing the filled skutterudite Pr_xFe_4Sb_<12> with the Pr-site filling fraction x close to 1 under high pressure. The residual resistivity of〜24μΩ・cm is several times smaller than that of samples with x〜0.8 synthesized under ambient pressure by independent research groups, indicating that highly improved sample quality can be achieved by reducing the Pr-site vacancy. From the transport, magnetic, and thermal measurements of the present sample with x〜1, we have found a singlet ground state of the crystalline electric field (CEF) for 4f-electrons and no phase transition down to 0.15K, in contrast to the reported magnetic ordering near 5K in the samples with x〜0.8. The effect of the Pr-site vacancy on the CEF level scheme and the 3d-electron density of states near the Fermi level is discussed as a possible origin of such a drastic change in the magnetic ground state.
社団法人日本物理学会の論文
2007-10-15