De Haas-van Alphen effect and Fermi surface of ordered alloys of the β brass type

The de Haas-van Alphen effect has been measured in the three ordered alloys β'-CuZn, β'-AgZn and β'-PdIn (caesium chloride structure) by the pulsed field method. The results reveal a remarkable similarity between the Fermi surfaces of AgZn and Pdln; CuZn also fits into the general pattern, and there is in general good agreement with the results of band structure calculations on CuZn and AgZn. The Fermi surface consists of a hole sheet in the first band and a multiply connected electron sheet in the second band, in qualitative agreement with the empty lattice model. A feature of the experimental observations common to AgZn and Pdln has remained unexplained.