Observation of the magnetization-step in Gd doped antiperovskite compounds Mn3Cu1−xGdxN (0.15≤x≤0.25)

(Gadolinium) Gd-doped antiperovskite compounds Mn3Cu1−xGdxN were synthesized by the conventional solid-state reaction. With increasing Gd concentration, two magnetic transitions appeared at a high Curie temperature (TC1) corresponding to paramagnetic (PM)-ferromagnetic (FM) transition and a low temperature (TC2) ascribed to the FM-antiferromagnetic (AFM) transition. The magnetic relaxation results show the formation of a magnetic metastable state after the FM-AFM transition at low temperature (lower than TC2), forming a novel magnetic-step feature in the process from AFM to FM under a certain magnetic field.