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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 magnetic structure of La 1- x Tb x Mn 2 Si 2 compounds with 0 ≤ x ≤ 1 has been studied by powder neutron diffraction and magnetization measurements on single-crystal samples. We demonstrate that at 4.2 K, with increasing the Tb concentration, a canted ferromagnetic structure of LaMn 2 Si 2 changes at x > 0.2 to a canted antiferromagnetic structure. The antiferromagnetic in-plane component of Mn moment decreases with increasing concentration x and vanishes at x > 0.5. TbMn 2 Si 2 is characterized by a collinear in-plane Mn ordering and ferrimagnetic structure, in which the Mn sublattice possesses the ferromagnetic interlayer alignment along the easy c -axis. Neutron diffraction study does not reveal a long-range magnetic order of Tb moments for the compounds with x ≤ 0.4. Our results show that for concentrations 0.2 < x ≤ 0.4, a competition of the interlayer Tb-Mn, Mn-Mn exchange interactions and strong uniaxial magnetic anisotropy leads to formation of a frustrated magnetic state of Tb ions, which prevents magnetic ordering in the Tb sublattice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]