Crystal growth of the intermetallic compound Nd2PdSi3

Nd2PdSi3 single crystals were grown by a vertical floating zone method with radiation heating at a zone traveling rate of 3 mm/h. The compound exhibits congruent melting behavior at a liquidus temperature of about 1790 °C. The actual crystal composition (35.3 ± 0.5) at.% Nd, (16.2 ± 0.5) at.% Pd, and (48.5 ± 0.5) at.% Si is slightly depleted in Pd and Si with respect to the nominal stoichiometry. Therefore, the gradual accumulation of these elements in the traveling zone led to a decrease of the operating temperature during the growth process. Single crystalline samples exhibit a large anisotropy due to the crystal electric field effect and order ferromagnetically below the Curie temperature TC = 15.1 K. The [001] orientation was identified as the magnetic easy axis at low temperatures. (© 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)