Structure and magnetostriction of Ho 1 -x Prx Fe 1.9 alloys

Polycrystalline Ho1−xPrxFe1.9 (0≤x≤1) cubic Laves alloys were synthesized by arc-melting and subsequent annealing under high stress. Their structure, magnetic properties and magnetostriction are investigated using X-ray diffraction, vibrating sample magnetometer and standard strain gauge technique, respectively. It was found that Ho1−xPrxFe1.9 single cubic Laves phase cannot be obtained when x>0.2 by a traditional vacuum annealing method. In contrast, the cubic Laves phase can be stabilized over the whole studies range in the samples annealed under high stress. The saturation magnetization for Ho1−xPrxFe1.9 decreases with the increase of x and reaches a minimum at x=0.4, then increases with further increase of x, which indicates the antiparallel magnetic moment alignment between Ho and Pr sublattice. The magnetostriction of Ho1−xPrxFe1.9 does not linearly increase with increasing x, but presents a minimum at x=0.4.