New features relating to magnetic compensation behaviour in zero magnetization spin ferromagnetic alloy Sm_0.98Gd_0.02Al₂

Abstract

Isothermal magnetic hysteresis studies on the zero-magnetization spin ferromagnetic alloy, Sm_0.98Gd_0.02Al₂, revealed a development of asymmetry in the shape of the M-H loops which are shifted along the field axis near the xompensation temperature (T_comp). The loop recoeded at T_comp was essentially a collapsed loop with a negligible apparent coercivity. A measure of shift in the loops along the H axis; referred as 'exchange bias' (H_e), when plotted against temperature shows a change in sign from positive to negative near T_comp and is understood to arise from a turn around mechanism of the conduction electron polarization direction.