Low field control of spin switching and continuous magnetic transition in an ErFeO3 single crystal

Abstract

The magnetic behavior of a rare-earth orthoferrite ErFeO₃ single crystal can be controlled by low magnetic fields from a few to hundreds of Oe. Here we investigated a high-quality ErFeO₃ single crystal in the temperature range of 5–120 K, with two types of spin switching in the field-cooled-cooling (FCC) and field-cooled-warming (FCW) processes below the temperature of the spin reorientation (SR) transition from Γ₄ to Γ₂ at 98–88 K. The magnitude of the applied magnetic fields can regulate two types of spin switching along the a-axis of the ErFeO₃ single crystal but does not affect the type and temperature range of the SR transition. An interesting “multi-step” type-II spin switching is observed in FCW under low magnetic fields (H < 18 Oe) just below the SR transition temperature, which is associated with the interaction and the change of magnetic configurations from rare-earth and iron magnetic sublattices. When the magnetic field is lower than 15 Oe, the type-II spin switching in the FCW process gradually changes to a continuous magnetic transition along the a-axis of the ErFeO₃ single crystal. As the magnetic field is reduced to less than 17 Oe, the type-I spin switching in the FCW process also transforms into a continuous magnetic transition. Understanding the magnetic reversal effects will help us explore the potential applications of these magnetic materials for future information devices.