Magnetic properties of Tb1-xYxMn6Sn6 compounds

The magnetic properties of Tb1-xYxMn6Sn6 compounds (0 less than or equal to x less than or equal to 1) have been studied in high magnetic fields up to 40 T. The compounds for x less than or equal to 0.6 are found to be ferrimagnets, while for x greater than or equal to 0.9 they are antiferromagnets. The Curie and spin-reorientation temperatures of the ferrimagnets gradually decrease with increasing x. First-order magnetization processes are observed for the compounds with x less than or equal to 0.2. For the antiferromagnetic YMn6Sn6 and Tb0.1Y0.9Mn6Sn6 compounds, metamagnetic transitions are observed. Using susceptibility measurements we plotted the concentration magnetic phase diagram of the system. The effect of pressure on the magnetization curve of Th0.1Y0.9Mn6Sn6 was studied at 4.2 K. The critical field of the metamagnetic transition decreases from 1.6 down to 1.0 T with increasing pressure up to 1.2 GPa. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.