Experimental evidence of the spin-glass transition in the diluted magnetic semiconductorZn1−xMnxIn2Se4

Abstract

This work reports on magnetic measurements of the quasi-two-dimensional (quasi-2D) systemZn1−xMnxIn2Se4,with 0.01≤x≤1.00. For x>0.67, the quasi-2D system seems to develop a spin-glass behaviour. Evidence of a true phasetransition phenomenon is provided by the steep increase of the nonlinear susceptibilityχnl when approachingTC from above. The staticscaling of χnl data yieldscritical exponents δ = 4.0 ± 0.2, ϕ = 4.37 ± 0.17 andTC = 3.4 ± 0.1 K for the sample withx = 1.00 and similar valuesfor the sample with x = 0.87. These critical exponents are in good agreement with values reported for other spin-glasssystems with short-range interactions.