Magnetic properties of Ni2N

A powder sample of body-centered tetragonal Ni2N in a single phase was prepared by a high rate-type triode dc reactive sputtering and the magnetic properties have been reinvestigated. It is confirmed that Ni2N is not a ferromagnet. However, the material is not a simple paramagnet either and shows a weak spin-glass-like behavior at low temperatures with a freezing temperature of about 8 K. Posible origins of the behavior are discussed. Band-structure calculations are reported to see the stability of the nonmagnetic ground state of bct Ni2N against lattice expansion and appearance of nitrogen vacancies.