Magnetocrystalline Anisotropy of Rare Earth Impurities Doped in Gadolinium. I. Heavy Rare Earth

Abstract

The magnetocrystalline anisotropy of the heavy rare earth impurities doped in gadolinium metal was measured by a torque method in a temperature range from 4.2°K to about 200°K. The large contribution from the heavy rare earth impurities to the anisotropy is well explained by the crystal field theory. The temperature dependence of the anisotropy constant can be explained fairly well by assuming that impurity moments behave paramagnetically in the exchange field produced by the host gadolinium. Anomalous bents were observed in torque curves at low temperatures for all the alloys except for Tm-Gd.