Spin-glass and antiferromagnetic transitions in Ru_2−xFe_xCrSi

Abstract

In this study the properties of the Heusler compounds Ru2−xFexCrSi (0< x < 0.1) are investigated. Ru1.9Fe0.1CrSi was revealed to exhibit two anomalies in the temperature dependence of magnetization M(T); one is a peak in M(T) at T*N ~ 30 K and the other is strong irreversibility in M(T) below T*N, the onset of which is defined as Tg. M(T) and specific heat CP(T) of Ru2CrSi are measured. A clear peak is observed in both M(T) and CP(T). This is in quite contrast to the case for Ru1.9Fe0.1CrSi, where no anomaly in CP(T) was observed at T*N or at any other temperatures. These indicate that an antiferromagnetic transition occurs at TN = 14 K in Ru2CrSi. For x = 0.02 the characteristic two anomalies in M(T) are also found at various magnetic fields, and their field dependence is basically the same as that for x = 0.1. These two anomalies are suggestive of successive spin-glass transitions. As for the dependence of the two anomalies on x, Tg does not change with x, whereas T*N decreases with decreasing x and seems to approach Tg at zero field.