Magnetic properties of a SmNiSn single crystal

摘要

The magnetic properties of a single crystal of SmNiSn with the orthorhombic wepsilon-TiNiSi-type crystal structure have been investigated by magnetic susceptibility, magnetization and electrical resistivity measurements from 1.5 K to room temperature. Two anomalies have been found in the magnetic susceptibility, indicating an antiferromagnetic phase transition at T-N = 9.4 K and a second transition at 4.4 K. A large magnetic anisotropy has been found at low temperatures in the temperature and field dependencies of magnetic susceptibility and magnetization. Below 80 K, the easy axis of the magnetization is the c-axis. At T = 2.0 K, the c-axis magnetization curve exhibits metamagnetic-like behavior at H-c = 42 kOe and reaches 0.54 emu/g at H = 5 5 kOe, whereas for the a- and b-axis the magnetization is linear and smaller. The paramagnetic susceptibilities do not follow the Curie-Weiss law suggesting a large van Vleck contribution of the Sm ions. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. [References: 7]