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Z-type hexagonal ferrites have recently received attention for their room-temperature magnetoelectric (ME), which is activated when the temperature at which the transverse-conical spin-state transitions to a ferrimagnetic state is increased. The changes in the magnetic domain structure at the transition have been well-documented; however, they are still not understood in detail. In the present study, Lorentz transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis combined with an in situ heating experiment was conducted to demonstrate the shift in magnetic domain structure during the transition from the transverse-conical spin arrangement to a ferrimagnetic spin order. The dynamics of the magnetic domain structure changes with the increasing temperature were acquired in real-time. At 490 K, the magnetization transition from the transverse-conical spin state to the ferromagnetic state was demonstrated. Cross-tie domain walls formed during the magnetic transition process. The increased effect of the demagnetizing field applied to the 180° magnetic domains was caused by a lower magnetocrystalline anisotropy (MCA) at the easy axis of magnetization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The magneto–elastic coupling effect correlates to the changes of moment and lattice upon magnetic phase transition. Here, we report that, in the pseudo-binary Laves-phase Tb1-xDyxCo2 system (x = 0.0, 0.7, and 1.0), thermal expansion and magnetostriction can probe the ferrimagnetic transitions from cubic to rhombohedral phase (in TbCo2), from cubic to tetragonal phase (in DyCo2), and from cubic to rhombohedral then to tetragonal phase (in Tb0.3Dy0.7Co2). Furthermore, a Landau polynomial approach is employed to qualitatively investigate the thermal expansion upon the paramagnetic (cubic) to ferrimagnetic (rhombohedral or tetragonal) transition, and the calculated thermal expansion curves agree with the experimental curves. Our work illustrates the correlation between crystal symmetry, magnetostriction, and thermal expansion in ferrimagnetic Laves-phase alloys and provides a new perspective to investigate ferrimagnetic transitions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]