Field-Tuning Mechanisms of Spin Switching and Spin Reorientation Transition in Praseodymium-Erbium Orthoferrite Single Crystals

Xiaoxuan Ma; Ning Yuan; Wanting Yang; Shuang Zhu; Chenfei Shi; Huan Song; Zhiqiang Sun; Baojuan Kang; Wei Ren; Shixun Cao

doi:10.1021/acs.inorgchem.2c02316

Field-Tuning Mechanisms of Spin Switching and Spin Reorientation Transition in Praseodymium-Erbium Orthoferrite Single Crystals

Inorg Chem. 2022 Sep 19;61(37):14815-14823. doi: 10.1021/acs.inorgchem.2c02316. Epub 2022 Sep 8.

Authors

Xiaoxuan Ma¹, Ning Yuan², Wanting Yang¹, Shuang Zhu¹, Chenfei Shi¹, Huan Song¹, Zhiqiang Sun¹, Baojuan Kang¹, Wei Ren^{1

3}, Shixun Cao^{1

3}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Physics, Materials Genome Institute and International Center for Quantum and Molecular Structures, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, China.
² Kirchhoff Institute of Physics, Heidelberg University, INF 227, D-69120 Heidelberg, Germany.
³ Shanghai Key Laboratory of High Temperature Superconductors, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, China.

PMID: 36074388
DOI: 10.1021/acs.inorgchem.2c02316

Abstract

Field-tuning mechanisms of spin switching and spin reorientation (SR) transition were investigated in a series of high-quality single crystal samples of Pr_xEr_1-xFeO₃ (x = 0, 0.1, 0.3, 0.5) prepared using the optical floating zone method. The single crystal quality, structure, and axis orientation were determined by room-temperature powder X-ray diffraction, back-reflection Laue X-ray diffraction, and Raman scattering at room temperature. Magnetic measurements indicate that the type and temperature region of SR transition are tuned by introducing different ratios of Pr³⁺ doping (x = 0, 0.1, 0.3, 0.5). The trigger temperatures of spin switching and magnetization compensation temperature of Pr_xEr_1-xFeO₃ crystals can be adjusted by doping with different proportions of Pr³⁺. Furthermore, the trigger temperature of the two types of spin switching in Pr_0.3Er_0.7FeO₃ along the a-axis can be regulated by an external field. Meanwhile, the isothermal magnetic field-triggered spin switching effect is also observed along the a and c-axes of Pr_0.3Er_0.7FeO₃. An in-depth understanding of the magnetic coupling and competition between the R³⁺ and Fe³⁺ magnetic sublattices, within the RFeO₃ system, has important implications for advancing the practical applications of the relevant spin switching materials.