Metal-insulator transition induced by changes in composition in the Zr1−xScxNiSn solid solution range

Magnetic susceptibility oscillations around the metal-insulator transition across the Zr1−xScxNiSn solid solution compositions were experimentally observed for the first time. This transition was interpreted as an Anderson type transition. The observed oscillations indicate the existence of a Coulomb gap in the impurity band of the semiconductors during the change of doping level and compensation. A scheme of the impurity band transformation for the ZrNiSn semiconductor resulting from doping of acceptor impurities is proposed.