Temperature dependence of the magnetic Compton profile of ferrimagnetic DyFe₂and ErFe₂

Abstract

The spin moments of DyFe2 and ErFe2 samples have been determined from magnetic Compton scattering experiments performed at the KEK Accumulation Ring with 47.1 keV circularly polarized synchrotron radiation at temperatures 50-355 K. The polycrystalline samples were mounted in a cryostat and magnetized by an electromagnet producing a magnetic field of 0.5 T. The magnetic field was aligned parallel to the X-ray scattering vector and the scattering angle was fixed at 160 degrees . The good signal averaging associated with the use of an electromagnet facilitated the analysis of the magnetic Compton profiles of DeFe2 and ErFe2 in terms of a combination of rare-earth 4f, diffuse and iron 3d free-atom Compton profiles. The temperature dependence of the total spin moment mirrors the corresponding dependence of the rare-earth 4f moment. The rare-earth orbital moments have been deduced by combining the Compton data with bulk magnetization measurements.