Low-temperature magnetic phase transitions in the multiferroic Nd0.9Dy0.1Fe3(BO3)4. Part 1. Transitions induced by magnetic fields directed along the trigonal symmetry axis. Spontaneous transitions with temperature changes

Abstract

The elastic and magnetic characteristics of single-crystal Nd0.9Dy0.1Fe3(BO3)4 are studied at low temperatures in zero magnetic field and in external fields H||C3. The temperature dependences of the acoustic mode velocities and the magnetic susceptibility manifest a transition of the magnetic subsystem into a magnetically ordered state and two successive, spontaneous spin-reorientation phase transitions. The possibility of a spontaneous transition into an incommensurate (spiral) magnetic phase in the crystal is discussed. It is shown that an external magnetic field directed along the trigonal axis of the crystal induces a sequence of spin-reorientation phase transitions. An H-T phase diagram (H||C3) is constructed for this compound.