Double-phase transition and giant positive magnetoresistance in the quasi-skutterudite Gd$_3$Ir$_4$Sn$_{13}$

Harikrishnan S. Nair; Sarit K. Ghosh; Ramesh Kumar; André M. Strydom

doi:10.1063/1.4944596

paper

Double-phase transition and giant positive magnetoresistance in the quasi-skutterudite Gd $_{3}$ Ir $_{4}$ Sn $_{13}$

arXiv:1603.04377 · doi:10.1063/1.4944596

Abstract

The magnetic, thermodynamic and electrical/thermal transport properties of the caged-structure quasi-skutterudite Gd $_{3}$ Ir $_{4}$ Sn $_{13}$ are re-investigated. The magnetization $M (T)$ , specific heat $C_{p} (T)$ and the resistivity $ρ (T)$ reveal a double-phase transition -- at $T_{N 1} \sim$ 10~K and at $T_{N 2} \sim$ 8.8~K -- which was not observed in the previous report on this compound. The antiferromagnetic transition is also visible in the thermal transport data, thereby suggesting a close connection between the electronic and lattice degrees of freedom in this Sn-based quasi-skutterudite. The temperature dependence of $ρ (T)$ is analyzed in terms of a power-law for resistivity pertinent to Fermi liquid picture. Giant, positive magnetoresistance (MR) $\approx$ 80 $%$ is observed in Gd $_{3}$ Ir $_{4}$ Sn $_{13}$ at 2~K with the application of 9~T. The giant MR and the double magnetic transition can be attributed to the quasi-cages and layered antiferromagnetic structure of Gd $_{3}$ Ir $_{4}$ Sn $_{13}$ vulnerable to structural distortions and/or dipolar or spin-reorientation effects. The giant value of MR observed in this class of 3:4:13 type alloys, especially in a Gd-compound, is the highlight of this work.

20 pages single column, 7 figures, 1 table; Accepted to J. Appl. Phys., 2016

Double-phase transition and giant positive magnetoresistance in the quasi-skutterudite Gd3​Ir4​Sn13​

Abstract

Double-phase transition and giant positive magnetoresistance in the quasi-skutterudite Gd $_{3}$ Ir $_{4}$ Sn $_{13}$