Effect of Yttrium doping on structural and magnetic properties of Dysprosium

• Structural and magneto transport study on Dy–Y alloys.
• Changes in lattice parameters, strain and micro-strain on Y substitution in Dy.
• Reduction in TN and TC on Y substitution.
• A direct transition from Para to Ferromagnetic state above 1.5 T in Dy–Y alloys.

A comparative structural and magneto transport study has been performed on the Dysprosium (Dy) and Yttrium (Y) doped Dysprosium (Dy–Y) alloys in order to study the effect of Y concentration, temperature and magnetic field on the magnetic states and transitions of Dy–Y alloys. The magnetic state of Dy and Dy–Y alloys having lower Y substitutions change from Paramagnetic (PM) to Helimagnetic (HM) state via second order phase transition and from Helimagnetic state to Ferromagnetic (FM) state via first order phase transition. Small change in lattice parameters, strain and micro-strain is observed with X-ray diffraction on replacement with Y ions. Neel temperature and Curie temperature both show a decreasing trend on diluting Dy with non-magnetic Y in small concentrations. PM to HM and HM to FM transitions in the lower substitutional alloys discussed in this manuscript show a direct transition from PM to FM state at fields above 1.5 T.