Cr3Si doped by Co studied by muon spin relaxation and scanning electron microscopy techniques

Cr3−xCoxSi alloys were studied using muon spin relaxation (μSR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) techniques. The ferromagnetism observed in non-annealed samples is due solely to cobalt precipitates. Majority of cobalt builds into the A15-type of lattice upon annealing and enhances only its paramagnetic susceptibility. Dynamics of muons in the alloys show a nonmonotonic behaviour with temperature in the temperature range between 150 and 200 K. This effect is likely to be due to the localization of the positive muon at specific interstitial positions in the A15 structure.