Crystallization and magnetic characterizations of DyIG and HoIG nanopowders fabricated using citrate sol-gel

Abstract Dy and Ho iron garnets in form of nanoparticles were synthesized by citrate sol-gel method. Phase formation, lattice constant and average crystallite sizes of the samples were determined via XRD measurements. Morphology and particle size distribution were studied by TEM and chemical composition was checked by EDX. Magnetic measurements in temperature range 5–600 K and in the maximum applied field of 50 kOe were carried out by using SQUID and VSM. Their magnetic parameters, including Curie temperature, magnetization compensation temperature, spontaneous magnetization, high-field susceptibility, magnetic coercivity were discussed in the framework of three interacting magnetic sublattices, magnetocrystalline anisotropy, core-shell model and compared to those of the bulk materials. Based on these analyses further evaluation on the crystallinity and homogeneity of the samples has been made.