Magnetic properties of ternary rare earth compounds of the type Y(Co,Ni)10Si2

The magnetic properties of rare earth compounds of the type YCo10-xNixSi2 were investigated by means of X-ray diffraction on magnetically aligned powders and by measurements of the temperature dependence of the magnetisation and the a.c. susceptibility. From the experimental values of the saturation magnetisation at 4.2 K, we have determined that the magnitude of the Co moments in these compounds decreases strongly with increasing Ni content. A similar strong decrease is displayed by the corresponding Curie temperatures. We have determined the easy magnetisation direction in the various YCo10-xNixSi2 compounds and found that the Co sublattice anisotropy favours an easy moment direction perpendicular to the c-axis and decreases with increasing Ni concentration. The results obtained have been used to explain the concentration dependence of the spin-reorientation temperature in DyCo10-xNixSi2 compounds. (orig.)