Structural and magnetic characterization of spin canted mixed ferrite-cobaltites: LnFe0.5Co0.5O3 (Ln = Eu and Dy)

The mixed ferrite-cobaltites LnFe_0.5Co_0.5O₃, with Ln = Eu & Dy have been prepared by a sol-gel method and the samples have been characterized using X-ray diffraction and electron microscopy. The magnetic investigations reveal that both samples ordered in canted antiferromagnetic structures near room temperature. The Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya or antisymmetric exchange interaction induces weak ferromagnetism due to canting of the antiferromagnetically ordered spins. In the case of Ln-Fe-Co orthoferrites, two magnetic sublattices (Ln³⁺-4f and Fe³⁺/Co³⁺-3d) generally align in opposite directions and interesting temperature dependent phenomena: e.g. uncompensated antiferromagnetic sublattices and spin-reorientations, are observed in the system. The existence of hysteresis at low temperature region has been explained in terms of the strength of magnetic interactions between Fe³⁺ and Co³⁺ ions with different A-site rare earth cations.