Electronic properties of Ce(Cu,Ga)2

Ce(Cu_1-xGa_x)₂ compounds with x=0.0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.75 and 1.0 were prepared and found to crystallize in the orthorhombic CeCu₂ structure up to the composition x=0.6, whereas for higher Ga content the hexagonal AlB₂ structure is formed. We report on specific-heat, electrical-resistivity and magnetic-susceptibility measurements. Furthermore, the specific heat was measured in magnetic fields up to 5 T and the development of the magnetic moments and the magnetocrystalline anisotropy were studied measuring the high-field magnetization in magnetic fields up to 35 T. For CeCu₂-based compounds, the high-field magnetization results reveal a decrease of the ordered moment with increasing Ga content, which can be understood in terms of an increased 4f-ligand hybridization. The strong magnetocrystalline anisotropy observed in all samples changes from uniaxial type for x⩽0.2 to multiaxial type for x>0.2. Specific-heat measurements reveal the temperatures of magnetic ordering first to decrease from 3.5 K for CeCu₂ to a temperature below 1.3 K for CeCu_1.6 Ga_0.4 and then to increase again to 2.1 K for CeCu_0.8Ga_1.2. A development of Kondo-like behaviour was observed in the electrical resistivity