An abrupt spin reorientation transition and complex magnetic behavior in Dy0.7Nd0.3FeO3 single crystal

Abstract

Discovery of novel functional materials is the cornerstone of spintronics and other emerging technologies. We report an abrupt spin reorientation transition from Γ4(Gx, Ay, Fz) to Γ2(Fx, Cy, Gz) in Dy0.7Nd0.3FeO3 single crystal that combines the Morin transition characteristics of DyFeO3 and the Γ2 spin configuration of NdFeO3. The Γ2 transition along a-axis has two critical temperatures corresponding to the rotation of Dy3+/Nd3+ spins and the spin reorientation of Fe3+ sublattice, respectively. At 5 kOe, the Γ4–Γ2 transition becomes a continuous one beginning at 27.3 K and the Γ4 spin configuration re-emerges at 7.8 K unexpectedly. The b-axis exhibits non-zero magnetization and Nd-related transition that disappear at 10 kOe at TSR due to a structural phase transition. The anomalous change in the mode frequencies and linewidth near the transition temperature observed in Raman spectroscopy reveals clear evidence of spin–phonon coupling in Dy0.7Nd0.3FeO3 single crystal.