Anisotropy of hexagonal ferrites with M,W and Y structures containing Fe3+ and Fe2+ as magnetic ions

The ferrimagnetic saturation moment and hexagonal anisotropy constant K₁ have been measured at 4K on a Zn₂Y single crystal and on polycrystalline BaFe²⁺₂W and SrFe²⁺₂W samples. The moment of Fe₂W is in agreement with a collinear spin coupling and with the known site occupation for the Fe²⁺ ions. The moment of Zn₂Y is 9% lower than the value for a collinear configuration.The uniaxial anisotropy of Fe²⁺ in hexagonal ferrites is discussed and compared with that of Co²⁺. No noticeable Fe²⁺ anisotropy is found in Fe₂W in contrast to LaM = LaFe²⁺Fe³⁺₁₁O₁₉, in which the Fe²⁺ anisotropy is strong. The difference is attributed to the symmetry difference of the sites occupied by the Fe²⁺ ions in both compounds. The current theory does not satisfactorily explain the anisotropy and quadrupole splitting of Fe²⁺ in LaM. From this it is concluded that admixing of ⁵E states and (or) the influence of a dynamical Jahn-Teller effect cannot be neglected.The dipole-dipole anisotropy is computed for the M, W and Y structure and some deviation from the literature data is found. Using these results, a mean anisotropy of 1.3 to 2.3 cm^?1 per Fe³⁺ ion is found for the three structures.