Iron doped hexagonal ErMnO ₃: Structural, magnetic, and dielectric properties

The single phase ErFe _xMn _1-xO ₃ (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.15) compounds were synthesized by the solid-state reaction method. The doping effects on the crystal structural, magnetic, thermal, and dielectric properties were systematically investigated. The XRD patterns show all samples crystallize in the hexagonal structure with P63cm space group. The lattice parameters a and c first decrease with doping, which is followed by a subsequent increase at higher doping levels. Although both the Fe ³⁺ and Mn ³⁺ ions remain stable in high spin trivalent states in all samples, the magnetization is weakened with increasing Fe contents. The heat capacity data shows the antiferromagnetic transition slightly shifts from 77 K for ErMnO ₃ to 80 K for ErFe _0.15Mn _0.85O ₃, which can not be observed in the magnetic susceptibility data. The real part of complex impedance of these samples rises as the doping level increases, indicating the enhancement of insulativity of doped samples.