Spin-Reorientation Transitions and Domain Structure in TbFe[sub 11 – ][sub x][sub ]Co[sub x]Ti Single Crystals

Abstract

The magnetic structure of single-crystal TbFe11−xCoxTi compounds has been studied over a broad temperature range and in strong magnetic fields (up to 14 T). Measurements of magnetization and magnetostriction and a study of the domain structure revealed that spin-reorientation transitions (SRTs) in TbFe11−xCoxTi single crystals depend substantially on the cobalt concentration. It was established that the SRT temperatures and threshold magnetic fields are governed by the interplay between the magnetic anisotropies of the 3d and terbium sublattices. It is shown that, in these compounds, the low-temperature phase with planar anisotropy is separated in temperature from the high-temperature phase with uniaxial anisotropy by an intermediate metastable phase containing domains of the uniaxial or planar phase.