Observation of a metamagnetic phase transition in an itinerant 4f system via the magneto-optic Kerr effect: Ce(Fe{sub 1-x}Co{sub x}){sub 2}
- Ames Laboratory and Department of Physics and Astronomy, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 50011 (United States)
The optical and magneto-optical properties of single crystals of YFe{sub 2}, CeFe{sub 2}, and Ce(Fe{sub 1-x}Co{sub x}){sub 2} (x{approx_equal}0.1) were measured between 1.4 and 5.0 eV using a rotating-analyzer ellipsometer and a normal-incidence polar Kerr spectrometer. The electronic structures and optical properties of YFe{sub 2} and CeFe{sub 2} were calculated using the tight-binding linear muffin-tin orbital method in the atomic-sphere approximation. For YFe{sub 2} the calculations reproduce the experimental spectra. Alloying CeFe{sub 2} with small amounts of Co leads to an electronic instability which is evidenced by a low-temperature antiferromagnetic (AF) phase. The Kerr effect was measured in the AF and field-induced ferromagnetic (FM) regime. A remarkably large Kerr rotation was measured even in the AF state (up to -1 degree sign ). The phase transition from AF to FM order was observed in the Kerr rotation spectra at 5 and 50 K at photon energies of 1.8 and 4.0 eV. (c) 2000 The American Physical Society.
- OSTI ID:
- 20217697
- Journal Information:
- Physical Review. B, Condensed Matter and Materials Physics, Vol. 62, Issue 11; Other Information: PBD: 15 Sep 2000; ISSN 1098-0121
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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