Photoemission study of the skutterudite compounds Co(Sb$_{1-x}$Te$_{x}$)$_3$ and RhSb$_3$

Abstract

We have studied the electronic structure of the skutterudite compounds Co(Sb$_{1-x}$Te$_{x}$)$_3$ (x= 0, 0.02, 0.04) by photoemission spectroscopy. Valence-band spectra revealed that Sb 5p states are dominant near the Fermi level and are hybridized with Co 3d states just below it. The spectra of {\it p}-type CoSb$_3$ are well reproduced by the band-structure calculation, which suggests that the effect of electron correlations is not strong in CoSb$_3$. When Te is substituted for Sb and n-type carriers are doped into CoSb$_3$, the spectra are shifted to higher binding energies as predicted by the rigid-band model. From this shift and the free-electron model for the conduction and valence bands, we have estimated the band gap of CoSb$_3$ to be 0.03-0.04 eV, which is consistent with the result of transport measurements. Photoemission spectra of RhSb$_3$ have also been measured and revealed similarities to and differences from those of CoSb$_3$.