Magnetic and structural phase transitions of MnBi under high magnetic fields

Abstract

High-field x-ray diffraction and magnetization measurements and differential thermal analysis (DTA) were carried out for polycrystalline MnBi with an NiAs-type hexagonal structure to investigate its magnetic and structural phase transitions. The lattice parameter a rapidly decreases below the spin reorientation temperature TSR(=90 K) in a zero magnetic field. The parameter c decreases gradually with decreasing temperature and exhibits an anomaly in the vicinity of TSR. By applying a magnetic field of 5 T, the parameter a increases by ∼0.05% when T<TSR and varies smoothly when 8≤T≤300 K. DTA data show that the magnetic phase transition temperature from the ferromagnetic state to the paramagnetic state increases linearly at a rate of 2 KT−1 with increasing magnetic field up to 14 T.