Interband Transitions, IR-Active Phonons, and Plasma Vibrations of Some Metal Hexaborides

The high IR reflectivity of monocrystalline metallic metal hexaborides is superimposed by weak phonon spectra. The symmetry selection rules are lifted, probably because of structural defects. From the plasmon-phonon polariton frequencies in metallic LaB6 compared with those in semiconducting EuB6 and YbB6, the softening and the hardening of specific F1u modes by the free carriers are determined. From the plasma edges of EuB6 and YbB6, some parameters of the electronic transport are derived. The electron concentration increases proportional to the C content, whose donor properties are found to be comparable to those of hydrogen-like impurities. The existence of energy gaps in EuB6 and YbB6 proves that these compounds are semiconductors