Electronic properties of UNi2Si2 intermetallic compound

Abstract The uranium ternary compound UNi 2 Si 2 was studied using the magneto-optical Kerr effect, optical reflectivity at near normal incidence, and spectroscopic ellipsometry. The compound UNi 2 Si 2 exhibited metallic behavior, however, with only small contribution of free carriers to the optical conductivity. The strong interband transitions originating from the f states to higher empty d states of uranium were observed to extend to low photon energies.