Structural and Magnetic Properties of Tb(Fe1-xNix)11.3Nb0.7 Compounds

Abstract

Structural and magnetic properties of Tb(Fe1-xNix)11.3Nb0.7 compounds have been investigated. The x-ray diffraction patterns show that all compounds crystallize in the ThMn12-type structure and that all samples are almost of single phase. The lattice constants monotonously decrease with increasing Ni content. The Curie temperature Tc clearly increases and the saturation moment Ms monotonously decreases with increasing Ni content. X-ray diffraction patterns of aligned samples at room temperature show that for x ⩽ 0.2 the easy magnetization direction is in the plane while for the x = 0.25 compound the easy magnetization direction is along the c-axis. In the compounds with x ⩽ 0.20 spin reorientation occurs above room temperature whereas in the compounds with x > 0.2 there is a spin reorientation below room temperature. It has been found that Ni contributes positively to the T-sublattice moment MT.