Electronic structure of copper-rich copper-gold alloys

Abstract

We present and discuss angle-resolved photoemission measurements from the (111) and (100) faces of CuAu single crystals containing 10 at. % Au in the bulk, together with computations of complex-energy bands and densities of states in the ${\mathrm{Cu}}_{90}$${\mathrm{Au}}_{10}$ random alloy. Our calculations permit a good understanding of the shifts and smearings in the spectrum of Cu arising from the addition of Au with respect to the Cu d-band complex, the (111) Shockley state, and the (100) Tamm state. The observed position and width of the Au-induced structure in the density of states is also in good accord with the theoretical result. Aspects of the electronic spectrum of CuAu are compared and contrasted with those of CuAl, CuPd, and CuNi solid solutions.