Investigation of role of antisite disorder in pristine cage compound FeGa$_3$

Abstract

The role of controlled Fe antisite disorder in the narrow gap semiconductor FeGa$_3$ has been investigated. Polycrystalline samples were synthesized by the combination of arc-melting furnace and successive annealing processes. Deviations from occupation numbers of Fe and Ga sites expected in the pristine compound were obtained from X-ray data using Rietveld refinement analysis. Besides that, electrical transport and magnetization measurements reveal that hierarchy in Fe and Ga site disorder tunes the ground state of FeGa$_3$ from paramagnetic semiconductor to a magnetic metal. These findings are discussed inside the framework of Anderson localization in the vicinity of metal-semiconductor transitions and spin fluctuations.