Study of the magnetic structure in the spinel oxides MnGaxFe1-xCrO4 by neutron diffraction

Magnetic properties of the spinel system MnGaxFe1-xCrO4 have been investigated using neutron diffraction (ND) technique in the temperature range 600K >= T >= 10 K. The distribution of the magnetic moments in the tetrahedral (A) and octahedral (B) sublattices and their ordering as a function of temperature and composition has been determined. Ferrimagnetic transition temperatures and spin compensation temperatures have been determined for all the specimens. The features observed in the ND results are explained in the light of competing inter and intra-sublattice exchange interactions. A diffuse signal was found to exist below the innermost Bragg reflection with a general increase with increasing compositions indicating the formation of short-range spin clusters.