In-Plane and Out-of-Plane Magnetic Behavior in Iron Borate Single Crystal

Iron Borate (FeBO₃) is a unique material with promising applications in magnetic memory and magneto-optical devices. Single crystal of FeBO₃ is transparent and green with rhombohedral calcite-type structure. It is a room temperature ferromagnet with an optical band gap of 2.9 eV and plate-like growth. Neutron studies have shown that FeBO₃ becomes antiferromagnetic (AFM) below T_N ~348 K, with weak ferromagnetism in which the magnetic moments of the sublattice lie in the basal plane. However, there is lack of in-plane and out-of-plane magnetic data at low temperatures. In this work, we present the detailed in-plane and out-of-plane magnetic behavior in single crystal of FeBO₃. Temperature-dependent magnetic measurements show applied magnetic field dependent behavior at low temperatures (T< 25 K). Low temperature scanning SQUID images are presented to identify the canting of magnetic moment and novel behavior near the ground state.

Distribution A. Approved for public release: distribution unlimited. (AFRL-2022-4677) Date Approved 09-30-2022.

We also gratefully acknowledge the Air Force Research Laboratory, Materials and Manufacturing Directorate (AFRL/RXMS) for support via Contract No. FA8650 – 21– C5711