Valence-band photoemission study of single crystalline CeNiSn

The electronic structure of single crystalline CeNiSn has been investigated using photoemission spectroscopy. The extracted Ce 4f spectrum exhibits three peak structures; the typical Fermi level and 2 eV peaks, and another between them, similar to 0.9 eV below the Fermi level E-F. The near-E-F peak reflects a substantial Ce 4f-Sn sp hybridization, whereas the 0.9 eV peak arises from the Ce 4f-Ni 3d and Ce 5d-Ni 3d hybridization. A Ni 3d satellite feature is observed about 6 eV below the Ni 3d main band, indicating a strong Ni 3d Coulomb correlation in CeNiSn. The high-resolution photoemission study indicates a finite metallic density of states at EF implying a semimetallic ground state. The electronic states near EF are found to have mixed character from the Sn sp, Ce 5d, Ce 4f, and Ni 3d electrons. Constant-initial-state and constant-final-state yield spectra across the 4d-->4f threshold indicate the Ce valence to be close to 3+.