Sub-Kelvin magnetic order in Sm3Ga5O12 single crystal

The garnets remain one of the most studied classes of materials due to their technological applications. While many studies have focused on the low temperature properties of rare-earth containing garnets such as Gd3Ga5O12, there are relatively few studies concerning the low-temperature magnetic properties of garnets with lighter rare-earth ions such as Sm3+, with the majority of those studies having been done on powders only. Sm3Ga5O12 was prepared via standard solid-state reaction and a single crystal was grown using the floating zone technique. Magnetic susceptibility and low temperature heat capacity measurements show that Sm3Ga5O12 orders below 1 K and behaves like an effective S=1/2 system with negligible anisotropy.