Temperature-dependent magnetization of canted moments in erbium- iron-manganese-boron

Magnetization as a function of field up to 9 T is reported for Er2Fe/sub 14-//sub x/Mn/sub x/B compounds with x = 2 and 2.5 at temperatures T between 4 and 120 K. The noncollinear basal plane moment structure which exists among the Er and transition-metal moments within this temperature regime gives rise to an unusual nonsaturating field-dependent magnetization behavior. The magnetization increases linearly with field up to a field H*, where the slope dM/dH abruptly changes. M(H) is again linear above H*, but with a much steeper slope dM/dH∼0.5 μ/sub B//formula unit/T. H* increases monotonically with temperature for x = 2, until no slope change is observed at experimentally accessible fields when T = 120 K. In the x = 2.5 sample, H* initially decreases with increasing temperature, and reaches a minimum at 55 K. This behavior appears in a plot of M(T) as a compensation temperature T/sub comp/, that is, as a minimum in the magnetization near 55 K