Bulk electronic structure of Zn-Mg-Y and Zn-Mg-Dy icosahedral quasicrystals

We use bulk sensitive hard x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy to provide unambiguous evidence for a pseudogap in the density of states around the Fermi level in icosahedral Zn-Mg-Y and Zn-Mg-Dy quasicrystals, in agreement with our density functional theory calculations. The pseudogap in these Zn-based quasicrystals is less pronounced compared to the Al-based ones such as Al-Pd-Mn and Al-Cu-Fe [J. Nayak et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 109, 216403 (2012)]. This observation is in agreement with transport studies that indicate a larger charge carrier concentration in the Zn-based quasicrystals. Compared to Zn-Mg-Dy, the pseudogap is somewhat deeper in Zn-Mg-Y. The larger width of the Mg 1s and Zn 2p core-level spectra in Zn-Mg-Y is explained by different configurations of the local atomic surrounding compared to Zn-Mg-Dy