Single crystal growth and magnetic properties of Sm0.7Tb0.3FeO3 orthoferrite single crystal

• High quality Sm0.7Tb0.3FeO3 single crystal boule has been grown.
• The spin-reorientation temperature range of Sm0.7Tb0.3FeO3 was 330-360 K.
• Below 150 k, the magnetic moments of rare-earth align parallel to that of the Fe3+.
• The shapes of hysteresis loops are ascribed to the single-and double-domain states.

High quality Sm0.7Tb0.3FeO3 single crystal has been grown by the four-mirror floating zone technique. The magnetic properties of Sm0.7Tb0.3FeO3 single crystal were studied in the temperature range from 3 to 400 K. A clear spin reorientation behavior with the gradual transition of the Fe3+ magnetic moment ordering from {Gz,Fx}-type ordering at low temperatures to {Gx,Fz}-type ordering at high temperatures is observed in a range of 330–360 K, which is significantly lower than that of SmFeO3, while significantly higher than that of TbFeO3. Interestingly, below this transition, with decreasing temperature, the value of Mx increases till 3 K, which is in contrast to a pure SmFeO3. We ascribe this change of behavior to substitution of Sm ions for Tb ones. At temperatures below 100 K hysteresis curves possess a double-loop shape with two triangular loops emerging, which is explained by the single domain-wall state of the sample. The shape of hysteresis loop depends on the values of domain wall expulsion field Hexp and the domain wall nucleation field Hn.