Antiferromagnetism of Disilicides of Heavy Rare Earth Metals

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Magnetic properties of disilicides of Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, and Er have been investigated at temperatures ranging from 4.2°K to room temperature. All the disilicides except ErSi₂ have the orthorhombic ThSi₂ type of crystal structure and are shown to be antiferromagnetic. The Néel temperatures of GdSi₂, TbSi₂, DySi₂, and HoSi₂ are 27°K, 17°K, 17°K, and 18°K, respectively. The compound ErSi₂ has the hexagonal AlB₂ type of crystal structure and is paramagnetic at above 4.2°K. The paramagnetic Curie temperature of these compounds decreases with the number of f electrons of the rare earth ion.