Structural, magnetic, and critical behavior of CrTe1-xSbx alloys

M. Kh. Hamad; Yazan Maswadeh; E. Martinez-Teran; A. A. El-Gendy; Kh. A. Ziq

doi:10.1140/epjp/s13360-021-01534-5

2022 Impact factor 3.4

EPJ PLUS - Condensed Matter and Complex Systems

Eur. Phys. J. Plus (2021) 136: 516
https://doi.org/10.1140/epjp/s13360-021-01534-5

Regular Article

Structural, magnetic, and critical behavior of CrTe_1-xSb_x alloys

M. Kh. Hamad¹^a, Yazan Maswadeh², E. Martinez-Teran³, A. A. El-Gendy³^d and Kh. A. Ziq¹^e

¹ Department of Physics, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, 31261, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia
² Department of Physics and Science of Advanced Materials Program, Central Michigan University, 48859, Mount Pleasant, MI, USA
³ Department of Physics, The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), 79968, El Paso, TX, USA

^a mhamad@kfupm.edu.sa
^d aelgendy@utep.edu
^e kaziq@kfupm.edu.sa

Received: 12 February 2021
Accepted: 5 May 2021
Published online: 11 May 2021

Abstract

We investigate the structural and critical properties of CrTe_1−xSb_x with 0.0 ≤ x ≤ 0.2. The XRD patterns revealed that Sb substitution resulted in a pure NiAs-hexagonal structure with P6₃/mmc (194) space group. Lattice refinement of the structure revealed little changes in the a-lattice parameter, along with a more pronounced reduction in the c-axis. The critical behavior in CrTe_1−xSb_x has been investigated using the magnetization isotherms near the ferromagnetic transition. The obtained critical exponents () revealed that all samples (with 0.0 ≤ x ≤ 0.2) closely follow a mean field-like behavior with ferromagnetic Curie temperature near room temperature. The results from Widom scaling relation indicate self-consistency of the acquired values. Moreover, the magnetization isotherms near the Curie temperature follow a universal scaling behavior, giving further support for the obtained critical exponents.