The phenomenon of magnetic compensation in the multi-component compounds (Tb,Y,Sm)Fe2 and their hydrides

Abstract The series of ferrimagnetic Laves-phase compounds ( Tb , Y ) 0.8 Sm 0.2 Fe 2 obtained by gradual substitution of yttrium for terbium as well as the hydrides (Tb,Y)0.8Sm0.2Fe2 H 3.7 (amount of hydrogen close to the maximum allowed by the structure type) are investigated. We find that the MgCu2-type crystal structure is preserved after hydrogenation while the unit cell volume increases by ∼28%. The Curie temperature ( T C ) of hydrides is almost half the T C ’s of the parent compounds. For ( Tb 1 − x Y x ) 0.8 Sm 0.2 Fe 2 with Y concentration x = 0.6 , we observe a magnetic compensation, i.e. mutual cancellation of magnetic moments of the sublattices, which is fully consistent with the model of a three-sublattice collinear ferrimagnet. In the hydrides (Tb1-xYx)0.8Sm0.2Fe2 H 3.7 the magnetic compensation occurs at x = 0.2 . In this case, we argue that a non-collinear magnetic arrangement is placement in the compound. We demonstrate that hydrogenation is a simple tool of changing the composition for which the phenomenon of magnetic compensation occurs.