Magnetic Properties of TbNi1 xAuxIn Compounds

Polycrystalline samples of $TbNi_{1-x}Au_{x}In$ for x = 0.1, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6 and 0.8 were prepared and studied by powder X-ray and neutron diffraction and ac magnetic susceptibility measurements. These compounds crystallize in the hexagonal ZrNiAl-type structure. With increasing Au content a change in the magnetic structure is observed. For x = 0.1, 0.2 and 0.4 the magnetic order is described by the propagation vector k = (1/2, 0, 1/2) while for x = 0.8 by k = (0, 0, 1/2). Between 1.5 K and the Néel temperature the magnetic order is stable

Magnetic structure of RCuIn R Nd, Tb, Ho, Er

Magnetic and neutron diffraction measurements of RCuIn (R = Nd, Tb, Ho, Er) are reported. The compounds crystallize in the hexagonal ZrNiAl-type structure. The ZrNiAl lattice originates from a distortion of a kagomélattice. The studied compounds are antiferromagnets with the Néel temperature equal to 4.9 K for R = Nd, 14.5 K for R = Tb, 4.5 K for R = Ho and 3.5 K for R = Er. The magnetic ordering is described by the propagation vectorwe k = (1/2, 1/2, $k_z$) with $k_z$ equal to 0.161(6) for R = Nd, 0.2213(5) for R = Tb, 0.2510(3) for R = Ho and 0 for R = Er. The magnetic structure is noncollinear with magnetic moments in the basal plane for R = Nd, Tb and Ho and collinear with magnetic moments parallel to the c-axis for R = Er. The observed magnetic ordering results from the competition between exchange interactions of the Ruderman-Kittel-Kasuya-Yosida type, the geometrical frustration of the rare-earth magnetic moments and the influence of the crystal electric field. The latter affects the direction of magnetic moments and is responsible for the magnetic crystalline anisotropy