Tuning the Room Temperature Ferromagnetism in Fe5GeTe2 by Arsenic Substitution

In order to tune the magnetic properties of the cleavable high-Curie temperature ferromagnet Fe5-xGeTe2, the effect of increasing the electron count through arsenic substitution has been investigated. Small additions of arsenic (2.5 and 5%) seemingly enhance ferromagnetic order in polycrystalline samples by quenching fluctuations on one of the three magnetic sublattices, whereas larger As concentrations decrease the ferromagnetic Curie temperature (TC) and saturation magnetization. This work also describes the growth and characterization of Fe4.8AsTe2 single crystals that are structurally analogous to Fe5-xGeTe2 but with some phase stability complications. Magnetization measurements reveal dominant antiferromagnetic behavior in Fe4.8AsTe2 with a Neel temperature of TN ≈42K. A field-induced spin-flop below TN results in a switch from negative to positive magnetoresistance, with significant hysteresis causing butterfly-shaped resistance loops. In addition to reporting the properties of Fe4.8GeTe2, this work shows the importance of manipulating the individual magnetic sublattices in Fe5-xGeTe2 and motivates further efforts to control the magnetic properties in related materials by fine tuning of the Fermi energy or crystal chemistry.

Ferromagnetoelectric phases of hexaferrites: a group-theoretical analysis

A symmetry-guided approach for designing and tailoring magnetoelectric and multiferroic hexaferrites is proposed. A group-theoretical study of the magnetoferroelectric structures of a hexagonal ferrite was carried out. The results were applied to M-, W- and Z-type hexaferrites. It is shown that the magnetic structure cannot be collinear in the main magnetic phase, with the direction of the magnetic moment along the hexagonal axis. Magnetic sublattices are shown in which cation substitution should lead to the formation of a multiferroic state. A thermodynamic model of a hexagonal ferroelectric ferrimagnet was constructed, in which isostructural phase transitions were observed.

Structure–Property Relationships for Weak Ferromagnetic Perovskites

Despite several decades of active experimental and theoretical studies of rare-earth orthoferrites, the mechanism of the formation of their specific magnetic, magnetoelastic, optical, and magneto-optical properties remains a subject of discussion. This paper provides an overview of simple theoretical model approaches to quantitatively describing the structure–property relationships—in particular, the interplay between FeO6 octahedral deformations/rotations and the main magnetic and optic characteristics, such as Néel temperature, overt and hidden canting of magnetic sublattices, magnetic and magnetoelastic anisotropy, and optic and photoelastic anisotropy.

Coexistence of ferromagnetism, antiferromagnetism, and superconductivity in magnetically anisotropic (Eu,La)FeAs2

Materials with exceptional magnetism and superconductivity usually conceive emergent physical phenomena. Here, we investigate the physical properties of the (Eu,La)FeAs2 system with double magnetic sublattices. The parent EuFeAs2 shows anisotropy-associated magnetic behaviors, such as Eu-related moment canting and exchange bias. Through La doping, the magnetic anisotropy is enhanced with ferromagnetism of Eu2+ realized in the overdoped region, and a special exchange bias of the superposed ferromagnetic/superconducting loop revealed in Eu0.8La0.2FeAs2. Meanwhile, the Fe-related antiferromagnetism shows unusual robustness against La doping. Theoretical calculation and 57Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy investigation reveal a doping-tunable dual itinerant/localized nature of the Fe-related antiferromagnetism. The coexistence of the Eu-related ferromagnetism, Fe-related robust antiferromagnetism, and superconductivity is further revealed in Eu0.8La0.2FeAs2, providing a platform for further exploration of potential applications and emergent physics. Finally, an electronic phase diagram is established for (Eu,La)FeAs2 with the whole superconducting dome adjacent to the Fe-related antiferromagnetic phase, which is of benefit for seeking underlying clues to high-temperature superconductivity.

Observation of novel charge ordering and spin reorientation in perovskite oxide PbFeO3

PbMO3 (M = 3d transition metals) family shows systematic variations in charge distribution and intriguing physical properties due to its delicate energy balance between Pb 6s and transition metal 3d orbitals. However, the detailed structure and physical properties of PbFeO3 remain unclear. Herein, we reveal that PbFeO3 crystallizes into an unusual 2ap × 6ap × 2ap orthorhombic perovskite super unit cell with space group Cmcm. The distinctive crystal construction and valence distribution of Pb2+0.5Pb4+0.5FeO3 lead to a long range charge ordering of the -A-B-B- type of the layers with two different oxidation states of Pb (Pb2+ and Pb4+) in them. A weak ferromagnetic transition with canted antiferromagnetic spins along the a-axis is found to occur at 600 K. In addition, decreasing the temperature causes a spin reorientation transition towards a collinear antiferromagnetic structure with spin moments along the b-axis near 418 K. Our theoretical investigations reveal that the peculiar charge ordering of Pb generates two Fe3+ magnetic sublattices with competing anisotropic energies, giving rise to the spin reorientation at such a high critical temperature.

Revealing noncollinear magnetic ordering at the atomic scale via XMCD

Mass-selected V and Fe monomers, as well as the heterodimer $${\text{Fe}}_1{\text{V}}_1$$ Fe 1 V 1 , were deposited on a Cu(001) surface. Their electronic and magnetic properties were investigated via X-ray absorption (XAS) and X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) spectroscopy. Anisotropies in the magnetic moments of the deposited species could be examined by means of angle resolving XMCD, i.e. changing the X-ray angle of incidence. A weak adatom-substrate-coupling was found for both elements and, using group theoretical arguments, the ground state symmetries of the adatoms were determined. For the dimer, a switching from antiparallel to parallel orientation of the respective magnetic moments was observed. We show that this is due to the existence of a noncollinear spin-flop phase in the deposited dimers, which could be observed for the first time in such a small system. Making use of the two magnetic sublattices model, we were able to find the relative orientations for the dimer magnetic moments for different incidence angles.

Revisiting Goodenough-Kanamori rules in a new series of double perovskites LaSr1−xCaxNiReO6

The magnetic ground states in highly ordered double perovskites LaSr1−xCaxNiReO6 (x = 0.0, 0.5, 1.0) are studied in view of the Goodenough-Kanamori rules of superexchange interactions in this paper. In LaSrNiReO6, Ni and Re sublattices are found to exhibit curious magnetic states separately, but no long range magnetic ordering is achieved. The magnetic transition at ~255 K is identified with the independent Re sublattice magnetic ordering. Interestingly, the sublattice interactions are tuned by modifying the Ni-O-Re bond angles through Ca doping. Upon Ca doping, the Ni and Re sublattices start to display a ferrimagnetically ordered state at low temperature. The neutron powder diffraction data reveals long range ferrimagnetic ordering of the Ni and Re magnetic sublattices along the crystallographic b-axis. The transition temperature of the ferrimagnetic phase increases monotonically with increasing Ca concentration.