Low-field spin switching dominated by 4f-3d interaction in Er0.9Tb0.1FeO3 single crystal

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Abstract
In rare-earth orthoferrites (RFeO3), the R3+-Fe3+ exchange interaction plays a crucial role in modulating the magnetic properties of single crystals. Here, we report the effect of Tb3+ substitution on spin switching in an Er0.9Tb0.1FeO3 single crystal. Along the a-axis, Type-II spin switching (SSW-II) is observed under zero-field-cooling warming (ZFC) mode, while multi-step SSW-II occur under field-cooled cooling (FCC) mode. These behaviors are absent in the parent ErFeO3 and TbFeO3 single crystals. Both SSW-II processes are highly sensitive to external fields and can be tuned by magnetic fields below 50 Oe. These two SSW phenomena are attributed to the flipping of the Tb3+ sublattice moment, which is driven by the Tb3+-Fe3+ exchange interaction. We further find that the critical field Hc for the field-induced spin switching reaches a maximum value of 463 Oe at 15.5 K. Compared with parent ErFeO3, 10% Tb3+ substitution reduces the maximum Hc by 84.57% owing to a weakened Er3+-Fe3+ interaction and the consequent suppression of magnetic pinning between the Fe3+ and Er3+ sublattices. These results demonstrate that the competition between (Er3+, Tb3+)-4f and Fe3+-3d electrons in Er0.9Tb0.1FeO3 gives rise to spin switching that is highly tunable by low magnetic fields and temperature, making this material a promising candidate for low-power spintronic devices.

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