Magnetic behaviour of heavy rare earth compounds of the type RFe10Cr2

Lattice constants, high field magnetic isotherms at 4.2 K 1 Curie temperatures and spin reorientation temperatures are reported for RFe 10 Cr 2 compounds with R ≈ Y, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Lu. The value of the rare earth-transition metal (T) magnetic coupling constant J RT / k derived by a mean field analysis of the Curie temperatures is about − 15 K. This value is larger than the value of about −9 K obtained in a mean field analysis of the effect of the departure of the perfect collinear ferrimagnetic orientation of the sublattice magnetizations occurring in high magnetic fields. A tentative spin phase diagram for the RFe 10 Cr 2 series is presented.