Structural, dielectric, antiferromagnetic, and thermal properties of the frustrated hexagonal Ho1-xErxMnO3 manganites

Authors

Peng Liu, University of WollongongFollow
Xiaolin Wang, University of WollongongFollow
Zhenxiang Cheng, University of WollongongFollow
Yi Du, University of WollongongFollow
Hideo Kimura, National Institute For Materials Science

RIS ID

37536

Publication Details

Liu, P., Wang, X., Cheng, Z., Du, Y. & Kimura, H. (2011). Structural, dielectric, antiferromagnetic, and thermal properties of the frustrated hexagonal Ho1-xErxMnO3 manganites. Physical Review B (Condensed Matter and Materials Physics), 83 (14), 1-8.

Abstract

The Er doping effects on the structural, dielectric, ferroelectric, magnetic, and thermal properties of the hexagonal Ho_1-xEr_xMnO₃ (0 ≤ x ≤ 1) compounds synthesized by the solid-state reaction method have been investigated by Rietveld refinement and by measurements of dielectric constant, ferroelectric hysteresis loops, magnetic susceptibility, and specific heat. The a lattice parameter decreases as the Er content increases, whereas the c lattice parameter nearly keeps constant with pretty minor fluctuations. Dielectric data and ferroelectric hysteresis loops show all the samples are not only ferroelectric materials with leaky nature, but also with dielectric relaxation related to oxygen vacancies. The magnetizations of these compounds gradually decrease with increasing Er content. The Mn³⁺ ions in each sample remain stable in the high-spin state in the Mn-O₅ trigonal bipyramidal crystal field. Specific heat measurements show that the antiferromagnetic transition temperature continuously rises from 72 K for HoMnO₃ to 76 K for ErMnO₃. The Debye temperatures are 381 K for ErMnO₃ and 422 K for HoMnO₃.