Spin-glass-like behavior of CaNi1-xMnx Ge.

We report on the structural evolution and the magnetic properties of a CaNix-1MnxGe system that combines a Pauli paramagnetic matrix CaNiGe with a magnetic substituent Mn. The results indicate that the system crystallizes into a single-phase CeFeSi-type structure for x ≤ 0.1 and x ≥ 0.95. For 0.05 ≤ x ≤ 0.1, DC an AC magnetization measurements confirm that the system undergoes a ferromagnetic ordering at around 130 K followed by a magnetic glass transition at the susceptibility maximum near 80 K. AC measurements for the sample x = 0.05 reveal a frequency (v) dependence factor Δ Tf/[Tf(Δ logv)] of 0.006 and a field dependence of Tf = α + bH1.28 for the glass-transition temperature Tf. The observed spin-glass-like magnetic behavior for this dilute magnetic system of Mn-doped CaNiGe is interpreted in terms of the coexistence of the magnetic glass state and ferromagnetic clusters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]