Electrical and magnetic properties of holmium single crystals

Magnetic moment measurements are made on holmium single crystals (hcp) from 1.3 to 300 deg K in magnetic fields from 250 to 18,000 Oe, with the field applied along the c axis, the a axis, and a (1010) direction. The STA1010! direction is the direction of easy magnetization with an extrapolated effective moment per atom at saturation of 10.34 Bohr magnetons. Basal plane measurements show antiferromagnetism below the Neel temperature of 132 deg K with basal plane anisotropy occurring below 80 deg K. Below the Neel point, an anomalous type of transition to ferromagnetic behavior upon application of sufficient field is observed. Magnetization curves for the c axis are linear down to 60 deg K, while measurements below 20 deg K show an initial magnetization of approximately 1.7 Bohr magnetons followed by nearly linear magnetization curves. Electrical resistivity measurements are made from 4.2 to 300 deg K. For the a axis, the resistivity changes slope slightly at 20 deg K. A larger change in slope occurs at the Neel temperature of 132 deg K. For the c axis, the resistivity changes slope slightly at 20 deg K, reaches a peak at 120 deg K, goes through a minimum at 132more » deg K, and remains constant until approximately 150 deg K, after which it increases linearly with increasing temperature. (auth)« less