Abstract
Ternary alloys Co-Zn-Mn with -Mn-type structure exhibit helimagnetic order and skyrmion lattice states in a low-Mn-concentration region. Recent studies on (CZM) revealed that the magnetic modulation period and the paramagnetic-to-helimagnetic transition temperature are reduced with increasing Mn concentration [Tokunaga et al., Nat. Commun. 6, 7638 (2015)] and that the helimagnetic order is replaced with a spin-glass state in a high- region [Karube et al., Sci. Adv. 4, eaar7043 (2018)]. To understand the microscopic mechanism of the Mn substitution effect, we have performed crystal structure analyses of a series of CZM samples with and 16 by neutron powder diffraction. We present a model for the site occupancies of Co, Zn, and Mn in the unit cell, which has two independent crystallographic sites, specifically and sites. Zn atoms are always accommodated in the sites, and Co atoms prefer the sites, although some of them also exist in the sites in a low- region. Mn atoms mainly prefer the sites but also share the site with Co atoms in the region of . A comparison between the site occupancies and the magnetic phase diagram suggests that the amount of Mn in the sites is relevant to the emergence of the spin-glass state.
- Received 15 May 2019
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.100.064407
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