Observation of the magnetization-step in Gd doped antiperovskite compounds Mn_3Cu_(1−x)Gd_xN (0.15≤x≤0.25)

摘要

(Gadolinium) Gd-doped antiperovskite compounds Mn_3Cu_(1−x)Gd_xN were synthesized by the conventional solid-state reaction. With increasing Gd concentration, two magnetic transitions appeared at a high Curie temperature (T_(C1)) corresponding to paramagnetic (PM)-ferromagnetic (FM) transition and a low temperature (T_(C2)) ascribed to the FM-antiferromagnetic (AFM) transition. The magnetic relaxation results show the formation of a magnetic metastable state after the FM-AFM transition at low temperature (lower than T_(C2)), forming a novel magnetic-step feature in the process from AFM to FM under a certain magnetic field.