Study of Single Crystal Fe₂TiO₄ by the Measurement of Magnetization and Mössbauer Spectra

Abstract

A single crystal of Fe₂TiO₄ was grown with an infrared ray image furnace and its magnetization and Mössbauer srectra were measured. In a specimen squeezed along [001], we found that, at 77 K, the tetragonal axis and the spontaneous moment are fixed along [001], with a slight deviation in (110) or (1\bar10) plane (about 10∼20°) for the moment. In Mössbauer measurement, it was observed that the sharpness of the spectrum was largely affected by the domain distribution. We found several peaks which is ascribed to a special group of Fe²⁺ ions. We conclude that the E.F.G.Z axis of these Fe²⁺ ions is vertical to the hyperfine magnetic field H_n and they are on B sites with 3d electron orbitals spreading like that of dε_yz or dε_zx.