Core and valence level photoemission and photoabsorption study of icosahedral Al-Pd-Mn quasicrystals

Abstract

The electronic structure of quasicrystalline Al-Pd-Mn is investigated by means of valence and core level photoelectron spectroscopy. Variations of the photoionization cross section in the constituents' valence electronic levels as a function of photon energy are used to identify contributions from the different atomic species, in particular near the Pd 4d Cooper minimum. Resonant photoemission at the Mn 2p absorption edge shows the contribution of the Mn 3d states to the density of states in a region near the Fermi level. The asymmetry of Pd 3d and Mn 2p core level photoemission lines, and its difference for emission from metallic and quasicrystalline phases, are utilized to infer the contributions of the different constituents to the density of states at the Fermi level.