Effect of iron doping on the magnetic properties of TbMn2O5

We synthesized a series of TbFexMn2-xO5 (0 <= X <= 0.2) samples and studied the effect of the Fe-doping on their magnetic properties. X-ray diffraction patterns indicate a pure orthorhombic structure with space group Pbam for all the samples. Based on the data of temperature- and field-dependent magnetization, M(T) and M(H) curves, it is found that the magnetic moment enhances with increase in the Fe-content in TbMn2O5. With increase in the Fe-content from 0 to 0.2, the magnetic moment increases progressively from 0.014 to 0.030 mu(Bohr) p.f.u. at room temperature (RT). Particularly for the TbFe0.2Mn1.8O5 sample, a current-voltage curve displays a nonlinear behavior at RT. If a strong coupling between magnetic moment and electric polarization exists, the Fe-doped sample may have a higher polarization/ferroelectric effect, which should be a great advantage for the future application of the spintronics devices. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.