Electronic structure of Al-Pd-Mn crystalline and quasicrystalline alloys

An experimental and theoretical analysis of the electronic structure of Al-Pd alloys is presented. The experimental study, based on soft x-ray emission and absorption spectroscopies, is further extended to the case of quasicrystalline Al-Pd-Mn alloys and their approximants. The electronic structure is dominated by the sp-d hybridization. The Al-sp band is strongly modified by the interaction with the Pd-d states in the middle of the valence band. Close to the Fermi level, hybridization with the Mn-d states is found to enhance the structure induced pseudo-gap in the Al partial density of states, both in the icosahedral and the decagonal quasicrystalline phases.