Moessbauer study of amorphous Fe2RE (RE = Ce, Er) alloys

Among amorphous Fe2RE (RE = Er, Ce, Gd, La, Pr, Sm, Dy, Ho) alloys, Fe2Ce exhibits a tendency toward short range order, while the other Fe2RE compounds show clustering. However, we have almost no information about environments around Fe atoms. Using Moessbauer spectroscopy we have determined the quadrupole splitting distributions P(QS) of two representative amorphous Fe2RE (RE = Ce, Er) alloys, leading to local environments of Fe atoms. The analysis of the mixed magnetic dipole and quadrupole interactions in Fe2Er shows two kinds of electrical field gradients (EFT) with the positive and negative signs in the sample, indicating a random packing of Fe atoms. Furthermore, the analyzed quadrupole splitting distribution P(QS) of Fe2Er also supports random packing in this amorphous alloy. On the other hand, the amorphous Fe2Ce alloy shows two kinds of distributions of quadrupole splitting; the major component indicating random packing and the minor component Ce-rich Ce-Fe clusters. (orig.)