Microwave absorption in the singlet paramagnet HoVO4 in high pulsed magnetic fields up to 40 T

Microwave absorption of the rare-earth ( RE) oxide compound HoVO4 ( tetragonal-zircon structure) is investigated in pulsed magnetic fields up to 40T in the low-temperature range. For a magnetic field along the tetragonal crystal axis a few resonance absorption lines are observed at the wavelengths 871, 406 and 305 mu m corresponding to electron transitions from the ground and low-lying energy levels of the Ho3+ ion. In addition, broad non-resonance absorption is observed at 871 and 406 mu m in fields up to 15 T. The positions and intensities of the observed resonance lines are described quite well within the crystal field formalism with the known crystal field parameters. The effects of the small orthorhombic component of the crystal field, magnetic field misorientation out the symmetry axis and various pair interactions on the absorption spectra in HoVO4 are analyzed and discussed. (C) 2007 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.