Abstract
Low-temperature ultrasonic attenuation and resonant ultrasound spectroscopy (RUS) data are reported on single crystals of the semiconductor Sr8Ga16Ge30. The attenuation shows a strikingly glasslike behavior, implying that the elastic properties of the clathrate crystal at low temperatures (T<1K) are dominated by the presence of tunneling states. At slightly higher temperatures, the RUS data reflect the presence of a 2-level system with an energy-spacing of 45K. The origin of these low-energy excitations is found in the 'rattling' Sr-atom, which occupies a fourfold split site in the clathrate structure.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 95-100 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Journal | Physica B: Physics of Condensed Matter |
| Volume | 316-317 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - May 2002 |
Funding
This work is supported in part by ONR. Oak Ridge National Laboratory is managed by UT-Batelle, LLC, for the US Department of Energy under Contract No. DE-AC05-00OR22725.
Keywords
- Clathrates
- Elastic properties
- Tunneling states