Abstract

The magnetic and crystallographic structures of R(Fe/Mn)6A6 (R=Nd or Sm and A = Ge or Sn) intermetallics have been investigated using x-ray and neutron diffraction techniques and superconducting quantum interference device magnetic measurements. For both stannides (A = Sn) and germanides (A = Ge), the lattice contracts with increasing iron content. In the case of the stannides, substitution of manganese by iron enhances the saturation magnetization and Curie temperature at low iron concentrations (x ≤2 ) suggesting the presence of an extremely rare occurrence, positive coupling between iron and manganese magnetic moments. In contrast, the magnetic properties of the germanides deteriorate rapidly as manganese is replaced by iron. This difference in the dependence of magnetic properties on the iron content between the germanides and stannides is explained using the Bethe-Slater relationship between near neighbor exchange interactions and interatomic distances. Based on the observations described in this article, it is concluded that the critical near neighbor interatomic distance above which manganese/iron moments couple positively in these intermetallics is ∼2.614 Å..

Department(s)

Chemistry

Second Department

Physics

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

0021-8979

Document Type

Article - Journal

Document Version

Final Version

File Type

text

Language(s)

English

Rights

© 2002 American Institute of Physics (AIP), All rights reserved.

Publication Date

01 May 2002

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