Hybridization Gap in the Semiconducting Compound SrIr4In2Ge4

Large single crystals of SrIr4In2Ge4 were synthesized using the In flux method. This compound is a hybridization gap semiconductor with an experimental optical band gap of Eg = 0.25(3) eV. It crystallizes in the tetragonal EuIr4In2Ge4 structure type with space group I4̅2m and unit cell parameters a = 6.9004(5) Å and c = 8.7120(9) Å. The electronic structure is very similar to both EuIr4In2Ge4 and the parent structure Ca3Ir4Ge4, suggesting that these compounds comprise a new family of hybridization gap materials that exhibit indirect gap, semiconducting behavior at a valence electron count of 60 per formula unit, similar to the Heusler alloys.