Existence of Antiferromagnetism in NdSbTe single crystal
Sankar Raman1*, Fang-Cheng Chou2
1institute of physics, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan
2center for condensed matter sciences, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
* Presenter:Sankar Raman, email:sankarraman@gate.sinica.edu.tw
The crystal structure, magnetic, electronics and thermal properties of NdSbTe single crystals were investigated by high resolution synchrotron x-ray diffraction (SXRD), magnetic susceptibility, isothermal magnetization, and specific heat Cp(T) measurements. NdSbTe crystallizes in the tetragonal structure (space group). NdSbTe undergoes an antiferromagnetic (AFM) ordering at TN 2.9 K which is obviously shown from χ(T) and Cp(T). With increasing H, along the c axis induces a meta-magnetic transition, and subsequently AFM disappeared at H 0.4 T and H 2.5 T along the H || c and H || ab, respectively. This remarkable observation shows the ordered Nd3+ moments lie in the c axis and existence of anisotropy scenario. The estimated magnetic anisotropy with χ||c / χ||ab is to be 20 at TN. From Cp, we find a broad maximum after TN when applying a magnetic field which, also shifts to higher temperatures, drives the system into a ferromagnetic phase. χ(T) data suggest either a collinear A-type AFM ordering or a planar noncollinear AFM structure of Nd+3 spins S = 3/2.
Keywords: single crystals, Specific heat, crystal structure, antiferromagnetism