Magnetic Structure Properties of Alloys of Tb, Ho, and Er with Sc

Powder neutron diffraction patterns were obtained from binary solid solution alloys of the rare-earth elements Tb, Ho, and Er with Sc at temperatures ranging from room temperature to 1.3°K. Dilution by Sc stabilizes the oscillatory magnetic structures of the rare earths at the expense of any ferromagnetic component that may be present. In contrast to the case for alloys with yttrium, the transition temperatures of the Sc-based alloys cannot be represented by a universal function of the effective-spin variable $x=c{\mathrm{}(g-1\mathrm{})\mathrm{}}^{2}J(J+1\mathrm{})\mathrm{}$. Instead, the transition temperatures follow different but similar curves for each series; $T_N$ goes below 1.3°K at atomic concentrations of about 25 at.% Tb, 18 at.% Ho, and 39 at.% Er. The lack of magnetic ordering in such relatively concentrated alloys indicates that the magnetic interaction in the pure elements has been drastically modified by the dilution with scandium.