Ce4forbital coupling to transition-metal band structure: An ion-implantation study

Using ion implantation, we have prepared atomically dispersed alloys of Ce in almost all of the 3d, 4d, and 5d transition metals. We have measured the response of the implanted Ce 4f orbital to its host transition-metal environment via the Ce L₃ valence-state determination method. The close correspondence between the Ce 4f orbital occupancy and the host transition-metal d-band electronic structure that we observe motivates theoretical first-principles work on their coupling.