Spin reorientation in silicon-substituted yttrium iron garnet

Mössbauer spectroscopy of a silicon substituted YIG containing 0.3 Si⁴⁺ per formula unit has shown that a spin reorientation, from 111] to 100], occurs between 265 and 80 K. The transitions occur by way of the magnetic space groups $\text{R}\text{3}\text{c}\text{′ →}\text{F}\text{2′}\text{d}\text{′}\text{→}\text{I}\text{4}{}_1\text{ac}\text{′}\text{d}\text{′}$. The broad spin reorientation is mainly a consequence of the persistence of a nonuniform distribution of Fe²⁺ ions over the octahedral sites.