Magnetic properties of perovskite GdCrO3

The gadolinium orthochromate GdCrO3 exhibits negative magnetization when magnetization-temperature curves are measured in a field-cooled mode with low applied fields (< similar to 500 Oe). This compound shows canted-antiferromagnetic order of Cr3+ moments with a Neel temperature (T-N) of similar to 170 K. With cooling the samples below Th, magnetization exhibits peak values (M-MAX) with a positive sign at similar to 160 K, Below this temperature, it decreases with decreasing temperature, passes through a zero value (M = 0) at T-1 < similar to 130 K, and continues to decrease until T-MIN (> similar to 25 K). This behavior is interpreted in connection with the paramagnetic Gd3+ moments whose direction is opposite to that of canted Cr3+ moments. The maximum absolute value of the negative magnetization was much larger than M-MAX i.e,, nearly 30 times as large as M-MAX with an applied field of 100 Oe, With further cooling, the magnetization increase and cross again M = 0 around T, (> similar to 10 K). (C) 2001 Academic Press.