An Antiferromagnetic Transition in Zinc Ferrite

Abstract

Neutron powder diffraction patterns have been obtained for zinc ferrite over the temperature range 2.7\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}K-300\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}K. The data strongly suggest that the compound undergoes a transition from a paramagnetic state to an antiferromagnetic state in the neighborhood of 9\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}K. Superlattice lines observed below this temperature can be indexed on a cubic unit cell whose edge is twice that of the chemical cell. A model consisting of an antiferromagnetic alternation of ferromagnetic "bands" is tentatively proposed and discussed in relation to the observed line intensities.