Diluted magnetism in Mn doped SrZnO2 single crystals

Abstract

We have investigated the magnetic properties of Mn and Cu substituted SrZnO2 single crystals (SrZn0.99Mn0.01O2 and SrZn0.99Cu0.01O2). We observed signatures of weak ferromagnetism as a sharp increase of magnetic susceptibility below 5 K even in the low percentage (x= 0.01) of Mn substituted single crystals. Magnetic susceptibility data measured parallel or perpendicular to the ab plane yield anisotropic behavior with Curie Weiss temperature of about -320 K and -410 K, respectively, suggesting the presence of strong antiferromagnetic couplings among Mn atoms at high temperatures, similar to the Mn doped ZnO and Fe doped BaTiO3 samples. In contrast, the SrZn0.99Cu0.01O2 crystal shows paramagnetic behavior down to 2 K.