Electronic structure of liquid gallium antimonide tested with x-ray absorption near-edge-structure spectroscopy

On the basis of the measured K-edge x-ray absorption near-edge-structure (XANES) spectra of Ga and Sb in crystalline and liquid gallium antimonide (c-GaSb and 1-GaSb), the electronic structures near the Fermi level of 1-GaSb have been studied. A multiple-scattering simulation of the XANES spectra and a self-consistent calculation of the density of states (DOS) have been carried out. The configuration models used in the data analysis for 1-GaSb were generated by means of a reverse Monte Carlo simulation based on the measured extended x-ray absorption fine-structure data. The calculated spectra agree very well with the measured ones. The strong white line for the Ga K edge is attributed to the high density of states in the conduction band and partially to the excitonic effect. The DOS of 1-GaSb is quite high around the Fermi level, as for metals, while that for c-GaSb exhibits a gap there. Some features of the c-GaSb DOS remain in that of the liquid.