Perturbed Angular Correlation method in materials science

Abstract

The nuclear solid state methods involve inter alia the detection of the particles or γ-radiation from the nuclear decays or nuclear reactions to investigate the properties of condensed matter. This extremely broad range of methods can be divided into two main groups: ion beam analysis (IBA) and hyperfine interaction (HFI) techniques. The various methods from the first group are very important for determination of the elemental composition of materials, and for atomic arrangement. The widely used and most well-known technique is the Rutherford Backscattering Spectroscopy (RBS), which is based on the elastic backscattering of charged particles by nuclei in solids. Hyperfine techniques such as the Mössbauer spectroscopy (MS), the Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR), and the Perturbed Angular Correlation (PAC) have been extensively employed to investigate the structural, magnetic and electronic properties at atomic scale in the condensed matter [Sch96]. In this work, I present the use of the PAC method in fundamental research of the condensed matter as well as its application in the solid state and material physics. I give the results of the intensive studies on the intermetallic compounds, oxides, magnetic materials; thin films and nanocrystalline materials. I summarize the EFG parameters for Hf-Al and Zr-Al intermetallic systems.