Magnetic properties of Tb1−xSmxMn2Si2 silicides

The structural and magnetic properties of polycrystalline Tb1−xSmxMn2Si2 (0⩽x⩽1) compounds were studied by means of X-ray powder diffraction, AC susceptibility and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). All compounds investigated crystallize in the body-centred tetragonal ThCr2Si2-type structure with the space group I4/mmm. Substitution of Sm for Tb leads to a linear increase of the lattice constants and the unit cell volume. The lattice constants and the unit cell volume obey Vegard's law. At low temperatures, the rare earth sublattice orders and reconfigures the ordering in the Mn sublattice. The Néel temperature TN(Mn) determined by DSC technique decreases linearly with increase in Sm content x. The results are collected in an x-T magnetic-phase diagram.