Nonlinear magnetic resonance behavior and reversible adsorbed gas effects from trace ferromagnetism in Y-zeolite

Abstract

Unusual spin resonance observations made on a sample of rare earth ion-exchanged Y-zeolite have been attributed to the presence of a ferromagnetic impurity, and are qualitatively explained in terms of existing theories on nonlinear behavior in ferromagnetic resonance at high power. The effects included foldover and bistable response below 136 K, due to classical, anisotropy-based nonlinearity; above 136 K, apparent subsidiary absorption—the Suhl instability driven by coupling of low-frequency spin wave modes to the main resonance—predominated. Modification of the surface anisotropy is suggested to account for the complete suppression of the low-temperature effects when the zeolite sample was cooled in air, the high-temperature effects persisting after this cooling but with a loss of orientational anisotropy. Brief room temperature evacuation of the sample was sufficient to regenerate the original effects. Some details of the resonance behavior are very similar to recently published observations from magnetite impurities; those were there attributed to field-induced transitions. The limitations under which a field-dependent Verwey transition could be used to rationalize such observations have been schematically expounded, and the importance of the microwave field again appears to be the dominating factor.