X-ray magnetic circular dichroism study of the decoupling of the magnetic ordering of the Er and Co sublattices in Er1-xYxCo2 systems

We present an x-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) study performed at the Co K edge and at the Er L-2,L-3 edges in the Er1-xYxCo2 series. Our results indicate that both Er and Co magnetic sublattices order at the same temperature for all the investigated compounds. In the case of the Er0.6Y0.4Co2 compounds, XMCD data do not show the decoupling of the magnetic ordering for both Er and Co sublattices. Moreover, no experimental evidence of the occurrence of an inverse itinerant electron metamagnetism has been found for applied magnetic fields of up to mu H-0=10 T. In addition, a nonzero magnetic moment is found at the Co sites in the case of the Er0.5Y0.5Co2 compound.