Mössbauer spectroscopic study of spin reorientation in Mn-substituted yttrium orthoferrite

Abstract

The first-order spin-reorientation transition in the Mn-substituted yttrium orthoferrites, YFe(1-x)Mn(x)O(3) (x = 0.1, 0.15 and 0.2), has been investigated using (57)Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy. Owing to its large anisotropy, substitution of Mn(3+) ions in YFeO(3) induces a spin-reorientation transition from the low-temperature antiferromagnetic state to a high-temperature weak ferromagnetic state. With increasing x, the spin-reorientation transition temperature (T(SR)) increases whereas the Néel temperature (T(N)) decreases. Analysis of the Mössbauer spectra unambiguously confirms the occurrence of spin reorientation relative to crystal axes. At a given temperature, the mean hyperfine field decreases with the increasing Mn concentration. The variation of canting angle with temperature for YFe(0.85)Mn(0.15)O(3) has been estimated.