Magnetic Characterization and Low-Temperature Heat Transport Properties of the Orthoferrites RFeO sub(3) ( $R =$ Rare Earth) Single Crystals

• Published in: IEEE transactions on magnetics 2015-11, Vol.51 (11), p.1-4
• Main Authors: Zhang, Fabao, Li, Shujuan, Song, Junda, Shi, Jun, Sun, Xuefeng
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Antiferromagnetism; Dysprosium; Magnetic fields; Magnetic properties; Magnetization; Rare earth metals; Single crystals; Transport properties
• ISSN: 0018-9464; 1941-0069
• DOI: 10.1109/TMAG.2015.2445916

We have studied the magnetic characterization and low-temperature heat transport properties of the orthoferrites RFeO sub(3) ( $R =$ Gd, Dy, Ho, and Y) single crystals. At 40-60 K, the $M-T$ curves with H = 0.1 T (// c) in HoFeO sub(3) and DyFeO sub(3) show distinct step-like transitions, which are caused by the spin-reorientation transition of Fe super(3+). The magnetization and specific heat indicate that GdFeO sub(3) and DyFeO sub(3) have the antiferromagnetic order of R super(3+) at 2.2 and 4.1 K, respectively, while HoFeO sub(3) does not exhibit the antiferromagnetic order of R super(3+) at temperatures down to 2 K. Applying the magnetic field along the c-axis, the magnetic structures of R super(3+) or Fe super(3+) can be changed for DyFeO sub(3) and GdFeO sub(3). The thermal conductivities ( $\kappa$ ) of these materials display obvious differences. In particular, the $\kappa(T)$ curve of HoFeO sub(3) shows a broad concave at 40-140 K, which is caused by the resonant phonon scattering by Ho super(3+). These results point to the clear difference in the interaction between R super(3+) and Fe super(3+) ions among these materials.