Anomalous magnetic behavior and complex magnetic structure of proximate LaCrO3 LaFeO3 system

TL;DR

This study explores the complex and competing magnetic phases in the LaCrO3-LaFeO3 system, revealing transitions from paramagnetic to ferrimagnetic and antiferromagnetic states, with detailed analysis of magnetic interactions and structural correlations.

Contribution

It provides a detailed characterization of the complex magnetic behavior and structure of LaCrO3-LaFeO3, highlighting the coexistence and competition of magnetic phases near room temperature.

Findings

Paramagnetic to ferrimagnetic transition at 300 K

Antiferromagnetic transition near 250 K

Complex magnetic structure with metastable phases

Abstract

We investigated complex magnetic properties of multifunctional LaCrO3-LaFeO3 system. The magnetic measurements substantiate the presence of competing complex magnetic ordering against temperature, showing paramagnetic to ferrimagnetic transition at 300 K, followed by antiferromagnetic (AFM) transition near 250 K superimposed on ferrimagnetic phase. The onset of weak ferrimagnetic ordering is attributed to the competing complex interaction between two AFM LaCrO3-LaFeO3 sublattices. The low-temperature AFM ordering is also substantiated by temperature-dependent Raman measurements, where the intensity ratio of 700 cm-1 Raman active mode showed the clear enhancement with lowering the temperature. The non-saturating nature of magnetic moments in LaCrO3-LaFeO6 suggests the predominating AFM ordering in conjunction with ferrimagnetic ordering between 250 K to 300 K up to 5 T magnetic field. A complex magnetic structure of LaCrO3-LaFeO3 is constructed, emphasizing the metastable magnetic phase near room temperature and low temperature antiferromagnetic state.