1. Alternating magnetic anisotropy of Li$_2$(Li$_{1-x}T_x$)N with $T$ = Mn, Fe, Co, and Ni
- Author
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Jesche, A., Ke, L., Jacobs, J. L., Harmon, B., Houk, R. S., and Canfield, P. C.
- Subjects
Condensed Matter - Materials Science ,Condensed Matter - Strongly Correlated Electrons - Abstract
Substantial amounts of the transition metals Mn, Fe, Co, and Ni can be substituted for Li in single crystalline Li$_2$(Li$_{1-x}T_x$)N. Isothermal and temperature-dependent magnetization measurements reveal local magnetic moments with magnitudes significantly exceeding the spin-only value. The additional contributions stem from unquenched orbital moments that lead to rare-earth-like behavior of the magnetic properties. Accordingly, extremely large magnetic anisotropies have been found. Most notably, the magnetic anisotropy alternates as easy-plane $\rightarrow$ easy-axis $\rightarrow$ easy-plane $\rightarrow$ easy-axis when progressing from $T$ = Mn $\rightarrow$ Fe $\rightarrow$ Co $\rightarrow$ Ni. This behavior can be understood based on a perturbation approach in an analytical, single-ion model. The calculated magnetic anisotropies show a surprisingly good agreement with the experiment and capture the basic features observed for the different transition metals., Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, published as PRB Rapid Communication, Fig. 3 updated
- Published
- 2015
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