Crystal Field Excitations in CeAgl−xInx Compounds

The substitution of the monovalent Ag for the trivalent In in LaAgl−xInx and CeAgl−xInx offers the possibility of influencing the conduction electron system in these compounds. The strong dependence of the spin susceptibility of La-systems on the In-concentration1 was interpreted by band calculations which suggest that the Fermi level is pushed into a region of a high 5d-eg-band density of states2. Furthermore, CeAgl−xInx is one of the rare 4f systems where a structural phase transition (from cubic to tetragonal) occurs prior to magnetic ordering. The ferromagnetic Curie temperature TC is roughly independent of x whereas the structural transition temperature Ts rises from 15 K for CeAg to a…