Spin reorientation in NdCo5 single crystals

Abstract
A magnetic study was done precisesly on single crystals of NdCo5 from a standpoint of the spin reorientation (SR). The easy axis rotates continuously from the b‐axis <10⋅0≳ at lower SR temperature (TSR1 at 245 K) to the c‐axis <00⋅1≳ at upper SR temperature (TSR2 at 285 K) in the bc‐plane. The temperature variations of the magnetocrystalline anisotropy constants K1, K2, and K4 determined precisely from the magnetization and torque curves show that K1 changes its sign from negative to positive just at TSR2 and K2 from positive to negative at a little higher temperature than TSR2, but that (K1+2K2) reverses its sign exactly at TSR1. Further, it is found that the anisotropy constant in the basal plane K4 vanishes near TSR2, though it is fairly large (∠107 erg/cm3) at low temperatures. On account of this anisotropy change, the magnetization curve along the a‐axis <11⋅0≳ has a peak temperature slightly higher than TSR1 when effective field of more than 10 kOe is applied.