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Acta Cryst. (2014). A70, C165
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The magnetic interaction between the crystallites of weak ferromagnetic α-Fe2O3 has been studied by combining SR based X-ray diffraction with an externally applied magnetic field. The measurements were performed with several polycrystalline α-Fe2O3 [1,2] samples (dry or in suspensions) placed in a half-filled cylindrical container in ambient conditions. The axis of the cylindrical container was oriented vertically parallel to the applied dc magnetic field. The polycrystalline sample had a free surface, so the α-Fe2O3 crystallites were free to move. The full Debye-Scherrer diffraction rings were measured with a 2D pixel detector at the beamline ID-15B at ESRF. In the absence of the magnetic field the intensity distribution over azimuthal angle was a uniform, i.e. there was no texture. The applied maximal field, B=0.9T was too small to change the magnetic ordering of α-Fe2O3 but it was sufficiently strong to reorient large amount of crystallites in order to minimize the angle between their ferromagnetic moment direction and the external field. Pronounced texture patterns with clear maxima in the angular distribution of the intensity across each Debye-Scherrer ring were observed. The observed textured intensity distribution was analyzed quantitatively by using a model based on the magnetic anisotropy observed in single crystals of α-Fe2O3. The analysis yielded two important parameters: (i) the width of the angular distribution of the ferromagnetic moments directions around the external field direction, and (ii) the relative quantity of the crystallites that did reorient in the external field. The α-Fe2O3 samples were also characterized with TEM technique. The analysis of X-ray and TEM studies provide new conclusions about the magnetic interaction between the α-Fe2O3 crystallites [3]. The proposed measurement technique can be applied to study other weak ferromagnetic materials.

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Acta Cryst. (2014). A70, C517
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The rhombohedral CaMn7O12 manganite is an important material which shows magnetoelectrioc coupling with very high values of the electric polarization [1]. These outstanding properties motivated many experimental studies and also theoretical analysis. The mechanism which leads to these extraordinary properties has not been explained up to now. A fundamental information needed for such studies is the crystal structure and the magnetic ordering. CaMn7O12 has a complex structure with a magnetic moments modulation below TN=90K [1,2], a modulation of the atomic positions below TC=250K [2] and also orbital ordering. The magnetic modulation propagation vector qm is related with the atomic positions modulation vector qp by the relation qp=2qm [2]. This 2:1 relation is valid across a large range of temperatures and show the importance of spin-lattice coupling. The crystal and magnetic structure of CaMn7O12 was studied by neutron powder diffraction at the instrument DMC at SINQ [3]. The magnetic and atomic position modulations are described by using the superspace group formalism. This approach is especially important for description of both modulations with the same model [2]. The resulting magnetic ordering model obtained in [3] is more precise as compared with earlier works [1,2]. The present results [3] differ from those published by other authors [1]. The important difference is that in the present studies the angle, Phi, between Mn3+ and Mn4+ magnetic moments located in the same (001) planes (Phi = 0.99(2)Pi), i.e. the moments are antiparallel, whereas Johnson et al. [1] determined this angle as Phi=0.84(4) Pi. This angle is an important parameter of the model Hamiltonians describing the electronic and magnetic properties of CaMn7O12.
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