Low-Field de Haas-van Alphen Effect in Zinc

Abstract

A study of the low-field de Haas-van Alphen effect in zinc, employing automatic recording of the variation of the torque as a function of the reciprocal of the applied magnetic field, has revealed six sets of periods. These periods are assigned in a consistent manner to portions of the free-electron (single orthogonalized planewave) model of the Fermi surface. Cyclotron masses associated with the three larger sets of observed periods are found to agree well with the theoretical estimates. Evidence is obtained for the presence of a spin-orbit energy gap across the hexagonal face of the first Brillouin zone near the corners. Thus, the validity of the single Brillouin-zone construction is demonstrated for zinc.