The influence on the de Haas-van Alphen effect of impurity-induced strain

Abstract

A previously unconsidered mechanism for reducing the amplitude of de Haas-van Alphen oscillations is dephasing of the signals by the strain fields that surround an impurity. This effect is calculated and the resultant amplitude and phase are found to be appreciably affected. It is shown that in some cases a major part of the total impurity scattering obtained from measurements of the de Haas-van Alphen amplitude must be attributed to strain and that considerable care should therefore be taken when interpreting such experiments. Experimental measurements of both phase and amplitude in dilute CuIn alloys, which are characterized by large strain effects, are presented and confirm many features of the theory.