Electron Transport and Point Contact Spectroscopy of Cubic DyCu5

K. Nenkova,b, B. Idzikowskia,c, S. Ilkovicd, E. Kačmarčikováe, M. Reifferse and K.-H. Müllera a Institut für Festkörper- und Werkstofforschung Dresden, P.O. Box 270016, 01171 Dresden, Germany b International Laboratory of High Magnetic Fields, Gajowicka 95, 53-421 Wrocław, Poland c Institute of Molecular Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Smoluchowskiego 17, 60-179 Poznań, Poland d Faculty of Sciences, University of Presov 17. novembra 1, 080 78 Presov, Slovakia e Institute of Experimental Physics, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Watsonova 47, 043 53 Košice, Slovakia

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The electron transport properties and point contact spectra of melt-spun DyCu5 with the cubic phase (structure type AuBe5, space group F43m) were investigated. It was found by ac-susceptibility measurements that below a transition temperature Tm=6.5 K this phase shows metamagnetism. Between Tm and TC=14.5 K a spontaneous magnetization is found. Our measurements of electrical resistivity confirm the existence of two magnetic phase transitions in the compound. Furthermore, we present point contact spectra of DyCu5-Cu heterocontacts which are directly proportional to the electron-quasiparticle interaction function. Apart from a peak at about 18 meV, which is characteristic of electron-phonon interaction in pure Cu, we observed a series of additional maxima at lower energy, which are connected with the allowed 4f-transitions from the ground state to excited crystalline electric field levels.

DOI: 10.12693/APhysPolA.97.843 PACS numbers: 71.20.Eh, 72.15.Eb, 73.23.Ad, 73.40.Jn