Crystal field and rattling mode effects in skutterudites

Author(s)

Fernando Assis Garcia

• Document type: Doctoral Thesis
• Press: Campinas, SP.
• Institution: Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Instituto de Física Gleb Wataghin
• Defense date: 2010-12-15

Examining board members

Carlos Rettori; Carlos Manuel Giles Antunez de Mayolo; Oscar Ferreira de Lima; Mucio Amado Continentino; Herculano da Silva Martinho

• Advisor: Carlos Rettori

Abstract

This thesis addresses the general problem of crystall field effects and rattling modes in skut- terudite compounds. It employs, predominantly, the electron spin resonance technique (ESR or EPR, in the classical literature) aiming to probe the local point symmetry of the electronic states associated to the rare earth ions and the inohomogenities implied by their dynamics (rattling modes). Our study was mainly directed to the Ce 1-xRxFe4P12 (R = Gd, Dy, Er, Yb) compounds, usually described as a small gap semiconductor (G ¿ 0.15 eV). Our results pointed that the correct determination of the crystall field effects requires a new approach in the case of compounds with Th symmetry. The point group Th is one the five cubic point groups (O, 0h, T, Th, Td) being generated by the product T x sh, where T describes the full symmetry of a regular tetrahedron. In this sense, Th lacks the symmetry operations 6C4 e 3C¿2 and we need a new sixth order parameter, to describe all the invariants of point group T^ symmetry. This new parameter gives rise to a mix of the ground state symmetry of cubic systems, implying in non trivial phenomena discussed in this these. Interesting enough, following these results, we were able to map the crystall field ino-homogenities due to the dynamics of the rare earth ion within the skutterudite cage. In this sense, the ESR techinique was introduced as a probe to the guest ion dynamics in cage systems. Investigation of S systems (L = 0) showed that the effects of this dynamics in our experiment does not require the presence of this new sixth order parameter, being associated to a more general role of the rattling modes. We examine these two important aspects related to crystal structure of the skutterudite family and discuss the results in the context of possible applications of these compounds in the construction of thermoelectric devices and also in the study of strongly correlated phenomena (AU)