The low-temperature magnetic properties of FeTi2S4, a metallic compound with the Cr3S4 structure, are strongly dependent on the value of the magnetic field Hc in which the compound is cooled to 4.2°K. For Hc=8000 Oe the hysteresis loop at 4.2°K is strongly displaced along the σ axis, with a coercive field greater than 10 000 Oe. For Hc=30 Oe the loop is only slightly displaced along the σ axis, with a coercive field of about 100 Oe. For Hc=30 Oe the temperature dependence of σ is as follows: at 4.2°K it is fairly small, but increases with increasing temperature, reaching a maximum at a temperature Tm. Above Tm, σ slowly decreases with increasing temperature. If Hc is approximately 1000 Oe or more, the magnetization is fairly large at 4.2°K, but decreases monotonically as the temperature is raised, meeting the Hc=30 Oe value at a temperature slightly above Tm. The exact value of σ at any temperature depends on Hc. It is suggested that the observed properties are caused by localized ferromagnetic domains of iron ions present in an antiferromagnetic host lattice. These interactions are consistent with the theory of exchange anisotropy. © 1969 The American Institute of Physics.
