Magnetic and Transport Properties of (Fe1-xNix)2P in View of KKR-CPA Results

S. Kaprzyk, S. Nizioł, J. Toboła Faculty of Physics and Nuclear Techniques AGH, Al. Mickiewicza 30, 30-059 Kraków, Poland R. Zach Institute of Physics, Technical University of Kraków, Podchorążych 1, 30-084 Kraków, Poland M. Bacmann, D. Fruchart and P. Wolfers Laboratoire de Cristallographie CNRS, BP-166X Grenoble Cedex 9, France

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We present results of the electronic structure study for the solid solution (Fe1-xNix)2P (space group P6̅2m). The samples were synthesized for x=0.0 up to 0.15. From the electrical conductivity measurements on these materials, it was verified that resistivity increases with increasing temperature up to the Curie point TC and changes the slope at TC decreasing when temperature is raised above TC. To get insight into the possible origin of such observations, we carried out the Korringa-Kohn-Rostoker-coherent potential approximation electronic structure calculations for (Fe1-xNix)2P in the range of concentration x=0.0 up to 1.0. It was found that alloying with Ni in Fe2 P causes vanishing of spin band splitting and non-rigid band behaving of electronic valence states near the Fermi level. The polarization factor for electrons at EF changes in (Fe1-xNix)2P with increasing x, and interestingly, it reaches maximum at x=0.1, closely to the concentration (x=0.08), when the largest value of TC and a kink in temperature dependent resistivity were detected.

DOI: 10.12693/APhysPolA.91.475 PACS numbers: 71.20.Lp, 71.20.-b, 75.50.Cc