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Abstract
TEM observations and electrical resistivity measurements have been performed to investigate the low temperature stability, e.g. the occurrence of a phase transition, in Cd6 M (M = Ho, Er, Tm and Lu) approximants, which have the smallest M atomic radii among a series of Cd6 M compounds. Unlike other Cd6 M compounds, no changes or anomalies were observed in selected-area electron diffraction patterns or in electrical resistivity down to 20 and 15 K, respectively. Therefore, we conclude that a phase transition does not occur in Cd6 M (M = Ho, Er, Tm and Lu) and orientational ordering of the Cd4 tetrahedron is kinetically suppressed when the space inside the icosahedral cluster is reduced to a certain level.
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by Grant-in-Aid (KAKENHI (20045017)) and was carried out via joint research at the Institute for Solid State Physics, University of Tokyo. The authors wish to thank M. Ichihara, D. Hamane and M. Koike of Materials Design and Characterization Laboratory, Institute for Solid State Physics, University of Tokyo, for their assistance during TEM operations.