Growth and characterization of Dy1−xSmxMnO3 single crystals by optical floating zone technique

Abstract

Dy1−xSmxMnO3 powders were synthesized by solid-state reaction and single crystals were grown using optical floating zone method for the full composition range 0 ≤ x ≤ 1.0. Energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS) confirms the nominal composition for all the grown crystals of Dy1−xSmxMnO3. Rietveld refinement analysis using synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction data on powders obtained after crushing the crystals confirms the orthorhombic phase with Pnma space group for all the compositions studied. The lattice parameters and unit cell volume are shown to increase with increasing Sm3+ content at the Dy3+ site in DyMnO3. Magnetization measurements on Dy1−xSmxMnO3 single crystals reveal that the Sm3+ substitution systematically decreases the rare-earth ordering temperature (TDy3+).