Elastic properties and electronic structure of the Ni3Sb (cF16) intermetallic

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe possibilities of Ni as contact material in electronic applications has motivated the interest on the intermetallic phases of the Ni-Sb system, in relation to their use in lead free micro-soldering processes. In this work, a detailed theoretical study of the cohesive and thermodynamic properties of the compound Ni3Sb in the (cF16) Fm-3m structure is reported. To this aim, the Full Potential Linearized Augmented Plane Waves method, within the framework of the Density Functional Theory and both Generalized Gradient and Local Density approximations, has been applied. The structural parameters, cohesive and elastic properties of this compound and its constituent elements have been determined. In particular, the equilibrium structural properties are determined through the minimization of the energy, including the full relaxation of the internal degrees of freedom of the cell. It is shown that the calculated properties agree well with the available experimental data. Moreover, various contributions to the electronic density of sates are studied. On this basis, a discussion is presented of the bonding characteristics of this compound, in the framework of the current ideas about cohesion in p-d bonded intermetallics.