A comparative three-dimensional neutron depolarization study on RCrO4 oxides (R = Y, Er, Tm, Yb)

Three-dimensional neutron depolarization experiments have been performed on RCrO4 (R = Y, Er, Tin, Yb) powder samples in order to gain insight into their magnetic domain structure in the submicrometer range. The temperature evolution of both the average domain size and the net magnetization of each compound has been studied for different applied magnetic fields. The largest average domain size at zero external magnetic field was found in YbCrO4. The effect of an applied magnetic field oil the magnetic domain structure is relatively small in ErCrO4 and TmCrO4, when compared to YCrO4 and YbCrO4 where the average domain size even surpasses the average particle size determined by Scanning Electron Microscopy studies. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.