Optical properties and electronic structure of β'-NiAl

The optical constants and their temperature derivatives have been determined for β'-NiAl from absorption and thermoreflectance measurements in the energy range of 0.2--4.4 eV. The results are interpreted using the self-consistent energy bands of Moruzzi, Williams, and Gelatt. By comparing a calculated joint density of states with epsilon2, the imaginary part of the dielectric function, good overall agreement is found between theory and experiment. In contrast to earlier analyses, it is found that the 2.5-eV peak in epsilon2 is primarily due to direct interband transitions terminating near the Fermi surface. This new interpretation of the 2.5-eV feature is discussed in relation to previously reported concentration effects and the rigid-band model