Doping effects on the magnetic properties of NdRhIn5 intermetallic antiferromagnet

We report temperature dependent heat capacity and magnetization measurements on single crystals of Nd_1-xLa_xRhIn₅ (x=0.15, 0.4 and 0.5) and NdRhIn_5-xSn_x (x=0.08, 0.12 and 0.24). NdRhIn₅ is an antiferromagnetic (AFM) compound with T_N≈ 11 K which crystallizes in the same layered tetragonal structure of the CeMIn₅ family (M=Rh, Co and Ir), where different ground states can be found by tuning the interplay among different microscopic interactions such as the Kondo effect, crystal field (CEF) effects and the Ruderman-Kittel-Kasuya-Yoshida (RKKY) magnetic interaction. Here, we explore the evolution of the AFM correlations in this Nd-based (non-Kondo) compound while perturbing the RKKY exchange by using two different substitutions: (i) replacing Nd³⁺ by non-magnetic La³⁺ within NdIn₃ atomic planes (dilution) and (ii) substituting In by Sn in the In-sites (electronic tuning). For both types of doping, our results show the suppression of the AFM state as the La- or Sn-content is increased. This doping induced suppression of the AFM order is discussed considering the effects of dilution and effects in the tetragonal CEF using a mean-field model applied to the observed data. Our results are compared to the properties of other members of the RRhIn₅ family considering the role of dimensionality in the magnetic interactions.