Magnetic structure of La1-xTbxMn2Si2 compounds

The magnetic structure of La1-xTbxMn2Si2 compounds with 0 ≤ x ≤ 1 has been studied by powder neutron diffraction and magnetization measurements on single-crystal samples. We demonstrate that at 4.2 K, with increasing the Tb concentration, a canted ferromagnetic structure of LaMn2Si2 changes at x > 0.2 to a canted antiferromagnetic structure. The antiferromagnetic in-plane component of Mn moment decreases with increasing concentration x and vanishes at x > 0.5. TbMn2Si2 is characterized by a collinear in-plane Mn ordering and ferrimagnetic structure, in which the Mn sublattice possesses the ferromagnetic interlayer alignment along the easy c-axis. Neutron diffraction study does not reveal a long-range magnetic order of Tb moments for the compounds with x ≤ 0.4. Our results show that for concentrations 0.2 < x ≤ 0.4, a competition of the interlayer Tb-Mn, Mn-Mn exchange interactions and strong uniaxial magnetic anisotropy leads to formation of a frustrated magnetic state of Tb ions, which prevents magnetic ordering in the Tb sublattice.