Magnetic and magneto-optical properties of oxide glasses containing Pr3+, Dy3+ and Nd3+ ions

Magnetization of a number of oxide glasses containing Pr3+, Dy3+ and Nd3+ ions has been measured as a function of the magnetic field (0-50 kOe) and temperature (5-300 K). Magneto-optical Faraday rotation (FR) in the same glasses has been measured as a function of the light wavelength (240-1000 nm) and temperature (80-350 K). Dispersion of FR has permitted us to find the positions of the effective transitions responsible for FR and their magneto-optical activities. Temperature dependencies of both FR and the magnetization at high temperatures obey the Curie-Weiss law with negative Weiss constants. High temperature magnetic moments of the rare-earth ions in the glasses are rather close to those of the free ions. At low temperatures, all studied glasses reveal downward curvature of the reciprocal magnetization variation with decreasing temperature. The origin of this behavior is discussed. Formation of antiferromagnetically ordered clusters in Dy glasses is supposed