title: A high-field magnetization study of a Nd(2)Fe(14)Si(3) single crystal.
abstract: Magnetization study of a single crystal of Nd(2)Fe(14)Si(3) (with the rhombohedral Th(2)Zn(17)-type structure) reveals that the compound is a ferromagnet with a spontaneous magnetic moment of 32.3μ(B) per formula unit (at T = 2 K) and a Curie temperature equal to 495 K. The easy-magnetization direction lies close to the b-axis, tilting slightly towards the c-axis. (The b-axis [120] is not a high-symmetry direction in the crystallographic class D(3d).) The observed strong magnetic anisotropy is attributed almost entirely to the Nd sublattice, as concluded from comparison with a Y(2)Fe(14)Si(3) single crystal. A magnetic field applied along the c-axis induces a first-order spin reorientation transition at B(FOMP) = 20 T. In the process of magnetization the Nd and Fe sublattices behave as essentially non-collinear. This is manifest particularly in the downward curvature of the first (pre-FOMP) stage of the magnetization curve. It is proposed to regard this curvature as a validity criterion for the single-sublattice approximation.
authors.affiliation: Joint Laboratory for Magnetic Studies, Institute of Physics, Academy of Sciences, Na Slovance 2, 18221 Prague 8, Czech Republic. Department of Condensed Matter Physics, Charles University, Ke Karlovu 5, 12116 Prague 2, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: A V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Andreev
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yoshii
authors.forename: M D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Kuz'min
authors.forename: F R
authors.initials: FR
authors.lastname: de Boer
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kindo
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hagiwara