Magnetic properties of NdAu2Ge2

Physical properties of NdAu₂Ge₂, crystallising with the tetragonal ThCr₂Si₂-type crystal structure, were investigated by means of magnetic, calorimetric and electrical transport measurements as well as by neutron diffraction. The compound exhibits antiferromagnetic ordering below T_N=4.5 K with a collinear magnetic structure of the AFI-type. The neodymium magnetic moments are parallel to the c-axis and amount to 1.04(4) μ_B at 1.5 K. The observed magnetic behaviour is strongly influenced by crystalline electric field effect.     

Magnetic structure of the Sm5Ge4-type Tb2Ti3Ge4

The orthorhombic Sm₅Ge₄-type Tb₂Ti₃Ge₄ shows square modulated non-collinear magnetic ordering with wave vector K=[±1/3, 1/2, 1/2] at 2 K. The terbium magnetic moments lie in the bc plane and magnetic moment value of 7.5(2) μ_B/Tb is obtained at 2 K.     

Magnetic structure of the Mn5Si3-type Er5Ge3 compound

The Er₅Ge₃ compound (Mn₅Si₃-type, hP16, P6₃/mcm) at 4 K shows magnetic ordering of the antiferromagnetic type. Its magnetic structure consists of sine modulated collinear magnetic moments of Er that are parallel to the c axis (with a propagation vector k=[0 0 ±0.3]). This corresponds to the magnetic unit cell (a a 10c), the values of the magnetic moment of the Er atoms being, as a general formula, M_z≈M₀ cos [2π(Z–1/4)(1–kZ)], with M₀=9.2(2) μ_B at 4 K.     

Magnetic ordering in CeMnCuSi2

Temperature and field-dependent magnetization measurements on polycrystalline CeMnCuSi₂ reveal that the Mn moments in this compound exhibit ordering with a ferromagnetic (FM) component ordered instead of the previously reported purely antiferromagnetic (AFM) ordering. The FM ordering temperature, T_c, is about 120 K and almost unchanged with external fields up to 50 kOe. Furthermore, an AFM component (such as in a canted spin structure) is observed to be present in this phase, and its orientation is modified rapidly by the external magnetic field. The Ce L₃-edge X-ray absorption result shows that the Ce ions in this compound are nearly trivalent, very similar to that in the heavy fermion system CeCu₂Si₂. Large thermomagnetic irreversibility is observed between the zero-field-cooled (ZFC) and field-cooled (FC) M(T) curves below T_c indicating strong magnetocrystalline anisotropy in the ordered phase. At 5 K, a metamagnetic-type transition is observed to occur at a critical field of about 8 kOe, and this critical field decreases with increasing temperature. The FM ordering of the Mn moments in CeMnCuSi₂ is consistent with the value of the intralayer Mn–Mn distance R^a_Mn–Mn=2.890 Å, which is greater than the critical value 2.865 Å for FM ordering. Finally, a magnetic phase diagram is constructed for CeMnCuSi₂.     

The magnetic structure of the compound Ho5Sb3

We have investigated the magnetic behavior of Ho₅Sb₃ compound (Mn₅Si₃-type, hexagonal; a=0.8865(1) nm, c=0.6232(1) nm, as derived from X-ray Guinier powder pattern) by using the techniques of magnetization, electrical resistivity, heat capacity and neutron diffraction. We find that Ho₅Sb₃ exhibits a ferrimagnetic type (Ferrimagnet I) ordering below 60 K with propagation vectors K₀=[0, 0, 1] and K₁=[±K_x, 0, 0]. Below 40 K, the thermal variation of magnetic reflections and the appearance of an additional magnetic component with propagation vector K₂=[0, 1/2, 0] show the onset of an antiferromagnetic type of ordering in the magnetic structure; which evolves into yet another ferrimagnetic structure (Ferrimagnet II) as the temperature is lowered down to 2 K. The magnetic moments of the Ho atoms at the (4d) and (6g) sites with magnitudes of nearly 7.4 and 6.3 μ_B at 2 K, respectively, are inclined approximately at 70° to the c-axis.     

Magnetic anomalies in single crystalline ErPd2Si2

Considering certain interesting features in the previously reported ¹⁶⁶Er Mössbauer effect, and neutron diffraction data on the polycrystalline form of ErPd₂Si₂ crystallizing in the ThCr₂Si₂-type tetragonal structure, we have carried out magnetic measurements (1.8–300 K) on the single crystalline form of this compound. We observe significant anisotropy in the absolute values of magnetization (indicating that the easy axis is c-axis) as well as in features due to magnetic ordering in the plot of magnetic susceptibility χ versus temperature T at low temperatures. The χ(T) data reveal that there is a pseudo-low-dimensional magnetic order setting in at 4.8 K, with a three-dimensional antiferromagnetic order setting in at a lower temperature (3.8 K). A new finding in the χ(T) data is that, for H∥〈1 1 0〉 but not for H∥〈0 0 1〉, there is a broad shoulder in the range 8–20 K, indicative of the existence of magnetic correlations above 5 K as well, which could be related to the previously reported slow-relaxation-dominated Mössbauer spectra. Interestingly, the temperature coefficient of electrical resistivity is found to be isotropic; no feature due to magnetic ordering could be detected in the electrical resistivity data at low temperatures, which is attributed to magnetic Brillioun-zone boundary gap effects. The results reveal the complex nature of magnetism of this compound.     

Magnetic and crystallographic study of Tb0.75Y0.25Co3B2

Tb_0.75Y_0.25Co₃B₂ was studied as a function of temperature by neutron powder diffraction, ac susceptibility and SQUID magnetization measurements. The solid solution, which is of hexagonal symmetry and is paramagnetic at 300 K, undergoes a magnetic Co–Co ordering transition at ∼150 K, and a second magnetic Tb–Tb ordering transition at ∼17 K. The latter induces a spin-reorientation transition, in which the magnetic axis rotates from the c-axis toward the basal plane. The component of the magnetic axis, which is perpendicular to c, leads to a crystal symmetry reduction from hexagonal to monoclinic. The observed magnitude of the magnetic moment of the Tb ion is 1.5 μ_B, unusually small relative to the free ion and parent compound (TbCo₃B₂) values. These magnetic and crystal properties are discussed and compared with what was previously published for the parent compound.     

Low temperature thermodynamical properties of ErCu2Si2

ErCu₂Si₂ crystallises in the tetragonal ThCr₂Si₂-type crystal structure. In this paper results of magnetometric, electrical transport, specific heat as well as neutron diffraction are reported. Results of electrical resistivity and specific heat measurements performed at low temperature yield existence of magnetic ordering roughly at 1.3 K. These results are in concert with neutron diffraction measurements, which reveal simple antiferromagnetic ordering between 0.47 and 1.00 K. At temperatures ranging from 1.00 up to 1.50 K an additional incommensurate magnetic structure was observed. The propagation vector k=(0;0;0.074) was proposed to describe magnetic reflections within the amplitude modulated magnetic structure. Basing on specific heat studies the crystal field levels splitting scheme and magnetic entropy were calculated.     

Magnetic characterization of Mn5SiB2 and Mn5Si3 phases

In this work the Mn₅Si₃ and Mn₅SiB₂ phases were produced via arc melting and heat treatment at 1000 °C for 50 h under argon. A detailed microstructure characterization indicated the formation of single-phase Mn₅Si₃ and near single-phase Mn₅SiB₂ microstructures. The magnetic behavior of the Mn₅Si₃ phase was investigated and the results are in agreement with previous data from the literature, which indicates the existence of two anti-ferromagnetic structures for temperatures below 98 K. The Mn₅SiB₂ phase shows a ferromagnetic behavior presenting a saturation magnetization M_s of about 5.35×10⁵ A/m (0.67 T) at room temperature and an estimated Curie temperature between 470 and 490 K. In addition, AC susceptibility data indicates no evidence of any other magnetic ordering in 4-300 K temperature range. The magnetization values are smaller than that calculated using the magnetic moment from previous literature NMR results. This result suggests a probable ferrimagnetic arrangement of the Mn moments.     

Magnetocaloric effect in high-energy ball-milled Gd5Si2Ge2 and Gd5Si2Ge2/Fe nanopowders

Evolution of structure and magnetocaloric properties in ball-milled Gd₅Si₂Ge₂ and Gd₅Si₂Ge₂/0.1 wt% Fe nanostructured powders were investigated. The high-energy ball-milled powders were composed of very fine grains (70–80 nm). Magnetization decreased with milling time due to decrease in the grain size and randomization of the magnetic moments at the surface. The magnetic entropy change (ΔS_M) was calculated from the isothermal magnetization curves and a maximum value of 0.45 J/kg K was obtained for 32 h milled Gd₅Si₂Ge₂ alloy powder for a magnetic field change of 2 T while it was still low in Fe-contained alloy powders. The thermo-magnetic measurements revealed that the milled powders display distribution of magnetic transitions, which is desirable for practical magnetic refrigerant to cover a wide temperature span.     

Magnetic and transport properties of Pr2Pd3Si5

We have investigated the magnetic and transport properties of a new ternary intermetallic compound Pr₂Pd₃Si₅ which forms in U₂Co₃Si₅-type orthorhombic structure (space group Ibam). At low field (0.01 T) magnetic susceptibility exhibits an abrupt increase below 7 K and peaks at 5 K, revealing a magnetic phase transition. The onset of magnetic order is also confirmed by well defined anomalies in the specific heat and electrical resistivity data. Apart from the sharp λ-type anomaly, magnetic part of specific heat also shows a broad Schottky-type hump due to crystal field effect. Magnetoresistance data as a function of temperature exhibits a pronounced peak in paramagnetic state which could be interpreted in terms of crystal field effect and short-range ferromagnetic correlations.     

High pressure effects on the electrical resistivity behavior of the Kondo lattice, YbPd2Si2

We report the influence of external high-pressure (P up to 8 GPa) on the temperature (T) dependence of electrical resistivity (ρ) of a Yb-based Kondo lattice, YbPd₂Si₂, which does not undergo magnetic ordering under ambient pressure condition. There are qualitative changes in the ρ(T) behavior due to the application of external pressure. While ρ is found to vary quadratically below 15 K (down to 45 mK) characteristic of Fermi-liquids, a drop is observed below 0.5 K for P=1 GPa, signaling the onset of magnetic ordering of Yb ions with the application of P. The T at which this fall occurs goes through a peak as a function of P (8 K for P=2 GPa and about 5 K at high pressures), mimicking Doniach's magnetic phase diagram. We infer that this compound is one of the very few Yb-based stoichiometric materials, in which one can traverse from valence fluctuation to magnetic ordering by the application of external pressure.     

High temperature magnetic ordering in La2RuO5

Magnetic susceptibility, heat capacity and electrical resistivity measurements have been carried out on a new ruthenate, La₂RuO₅ (monoclinic, space group P2₁/c) which reveal that this compound is a magnetic semiconductor with a high magnetic ordering temperature of 170 K. The entropy associated with the magnetic transition is 8.3 J/mol K close to that expected for the low spin (S=1) state of Ru⁴⁺ ions. The low temperatures specific heat coefficient γ is found to be nearly zero consistent with the semiconducting nature of the compound. The magnetic ordering temperature of La₂RuO₅ is comparable to the highest known Curie temperature of another ruthenate, namely, metallic SrRuO₃, and in both these compounds the nominal charge state of Ru is 4+.     

A magnetic study of the ThCr2Si2-type RPd2Ge2 (R=Pr, Nd) compounds. Magnetic structure of PrPd2Ge2 from powder neutron diffraction

The magnetic properties of the PrPd₂Ge₂ and NdPd₂Ge₂ compounds have been investigated by magnetic measurements, specific heat measurements and neutron diffraction experiments. The PrPd₂Ge₂ compound orders antiferromagnetically below T_N=5.0(2) with an original modulated magnetic structure characterized by a magnetic cell three times larger than the chemical one by tripling of the c parameter. The palladium atom is non magnetic and the Pr moments are parallel to the c-axis with a value of ≈2.0 μ_B at 2 K. The specific heat measurements clearly detect a low temperature transition for the NdPd₂Ge₂ compound, interpreted as a Nd sublattice antiferromagnetic ordering below 1.3(2) K.     

Understanding the magnetic ground state of rare-earth intermetallic compound Ce4Sb3: Magnetization and neutron diffraction studies

Magnetization and neutron diffraction studies have been performed on Ce₄Sb₃ compound (cubic Th₃P₄-type, space group I4¯3d, no. 220). Magnetization of Ce₄Sb₃ reveals a ferromagnetic transition at ∼5 K, the temperature below which the zero-field-cooled and field-cooled magnetization bifurcate in low applied fields. However, a saturation magnetization (M_S) value of only ∼0.93μ_B/Ce³⁺ is observed at 1.8 K, suggesting possible presence of crystal field effects and a paramagnetic/antiferromagnetic Ce³⁺ moment. Magnetocaloric effect in this compound has been computed using the magnetization vs. field data obtained in the vicinity of the magnetic transition, and a maximum magnetic entropy change, −ΔS_M, of ∼8.9 J/kg/K is obtained at 5 K for a field change of 5 T. Inverse magnetocaloric effect occurs at ∼2 K in 5 T indicating the presence of antiferromagnetic component. This has been further confirmed by the neutron diffraction study that evidences commensurate antiferromagnetic ordering at 2 K in zero magnetic field. A magnetic moment of ∼1.24μ_B/Ce³⁺ is obtained at 2 K and the magnetic moments are directed along Z-axis.     

Effect of Y-doping on the magnetic and charge orderings in Nd2/3Ca1/3MnO3

The shifts of the magnetic and charge ordering transition temperatures caused by Nd substitution for Y in Nd_2/3Ca_1/3MnO₃ CMR narrow-band perovskite manganite have been studied. At low temperatures, three different long-range magnetic orderings consistent with a phase separation scenario have been observed in the doped compound (Nd_0.9Y_0.1)_2/3Ca_1/3MnO₃ by neutron-diffraction study: the antiferromagnetic orderings of PCE and DE types existing below ∼110 and ∼60 K, respectively, and the ferromagnetic one of B type existing below ∼42. Magnetic phase transformations temperatures as well as those of charge ordering have been found to be structural-dependent. Y-doping leads to the decrease of the anisotropy of the orthorhombic Pnma crystal lattice b/√2c, which causes a decrease of the indirect exchange parameters in the system and thus a decrease in the magnetic transformation temperatures for 20-30 K in the doped compound. Doping leads as well to the higher level of the coherent Jahn-Teller distortions of the MnO₆ octahedra in the 200-300 K temperature region, which results in the increase of the charge ordering temperature for ∼80 K.     

Magnetocaloric effect in R2Fe17 (R=Sm,Gd, Tb,Dy, Er)

A series of R₂Fe₁₇ (R=Sm, Gd, Tb, Dy, Er) have been synthesized. The magnetocaloric effect (MCE) of these compounds has been investigated by means of magnetic measurements in the vicinity of their Curie temperature. The Curie temperature of Er₂Fe₁₇ is 294 K. The maximum magnetic entropy change of Er₂Fe₁₇ under 5 T magnetic field is ∼3.68 J/kg K. In the R₂Fe₁₇ (R=Sm, Gd, Tb, Dy, Er) system, the maximum magnetic entropy change under 1.5 T magnetic field is 1.72, 0.89, 1.32, 1.59, 1.68 J/kg K corresponding to their Curie temperature (400, 472, 415, 364, 294 K), respectively.     

Magnetic properties of the intermetallic compound Ce5Ge4

Magnetic and magnetocaloric properties of the compound Ce₅Ge₄ have been studied. This compound has orthorhombic Sm₅Ge₄-type structure (space group Pnma, no. 62) and orders ferromagnetically at ~12 K (T_C). The paramagnetic Curie temperature is ~−20 K suggesting the presence of competing ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic interactions in this compound. The magnetization does not seem to saturate even in fields of 90 kOe at 3 K consistent with the presence of competing interactions. Saturation magnetization value (extrapolated to 1/H→0) of only 0.8μ_B/Ce³⁺ is obtained compared to the free ion value of 2.14μ_B/Ce³⁺. This moment reduction in the ordered state of Ce₅Ge₄ could be due to partial antiferromagnetic/paramagnetic ordering of the Ce moments and may also be due to crystalline electric field effects. Magnetic entropy change near T_C, calculated from the magnetization vs. field data, is found to be moderate with a maximum value of ~9 J/kg/K at ~11 K for a field change of 90 kOe.     

Magnetic and electrical properties of new magnetic phase in Si1−xMnx crystals

We have investigated the magnetic and electrical transport properties of Si_1−xMn_x single crystals grown by the vertical Bridgman method. The alloys with Mn concentrations up to x=0.64 have weak ferromagnetic ordering around T_C∼30 K. However, Si_0.25Mn_0.75 alloys show weak ferromagnetic ordering at 70 K and antiferromagnetic ordering at 104 K, which is confirmed by magnetization and electrical transport studies.     

Magnetic ordering in La0.75Sr0.25CrO3: A neutron diffraction study

Low-temperature neutron diffraction measurements were carried out on a powder sample of the compound La_0.75Sr_0.25CrO₃ in order to elucidate its magnetic structure. Rietveld analysis of the neutron diffraction data, as a function of temperature, showed that it possesses a G-type antiferromagnetic alignment of Cr spins at all temperatures below 300 K. Down to the lowest achievable temperature, viz. 17 K, the Cr site moments were found to be the weighted average of the 75% Cr³⁺ and 25% Cr⁴⁺ spin-only ionic moments. At 17 K, the Cr site moment was 2.71(5) μ_B/Cr ion. There is no observable change in the Cr–O bond lengths as a function of temperature. The tilt angles of the CrO₆ octahedra marginally increase with decreasing temperature.