Growth, magnetic anisotropy and Faraday characteristics of NaCe(MoO4)2 crystal

NaCe(MoO4)2 (NCM) crystal with dimensions of 20 × 20 × 18 mm3 was grown by the Czochralski method. Rietveld structure refinement of X-ray diffraction (XRD) data confirms that the compound crystallizes in the tetragonal system I41/a. Transmission spectrum and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were measured at room temperature, which demonstrate that NCM crystal has relatively high transmittance in the 800-2000 nm regions after annealing in air and Ce3+ ions could exist stably in the structure of the scheelite molybdates. The magnetic susceptibility in different directions and Faraday characteristics of NCM crystal were investigated. The results show NCM crystal has obvious magnetic anisotropy and larger Verdet constants than those of TGG reported. The reason of large Verdet constants was analyzed in terms of Ce 4f-4f5d electronic transitions based on the Van Vleck-Hebb theory.