Spin glass–like transition in the structurally disordered intermetallic compound Sm2Au1.1Ge2.9

The novel intermetallic compound Sm₂Au_1.1Ge_2.9 was synthesized using an arc-melting method. A detailed analysis of its crystallographic structure, magnetic and thermal properties has been documented. Powder X-ray diffraction analysis indicated that this compound crystallizes in a disordered variant of the AlB₂-type structure (space group P6/mmm, no. 191) with lattice parameters a = 4.2495(1) Å and c = 4.1300(1) Å. The exact nature of magnetic properties of this intermetallic compound was investigated both by AC and DC magnetization measurements including time evolution of remnant magnetization and magnetic memory effect studies. The investigation of magnetic properties was supplemented by measurements of heat capacity with and without an applied magnetic field. The new Sm₂Au_1.1Ge_2.9 compound is found to exhibit a cluster glass transition at surprisingly high temperature T_f(39 Hz) = 21.9 K. Such a high phase transition temperature makes this material a promising candidate for technical applications e.g. in magnetic memory devices.