Structural transformation, magnetization reversal and magnetic switching in Cr doped GdMnO3 perovskite

In this paper, the effect of Cr doping on the structure and magnetic properties of a GdMnO3 (GMO) perovskite is reported. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns show a structural transformation from O′ to O type orthorhombic symmetry after doping 50 at% Cr into GdMnO3 (GMCO), which is confirmed by the Rietveld refinement fitting. Furthermore, the Jahn–Teller distortion (J–T) factor estimated from XRD is found to decrease, and this agrees well with the value estimated from X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) studies. The temperature-dependent magnetization shows an enhancement in Néel temperature (TN) from ∼42 K in GMO to ∼140 K together with magnetization reversal (MR) and a spin reorientation transition (TSR) in GMCO. At 15 K, magnetic switching behavior is discovered upon varying the applied magnetic field from 500 to 2000 Oe. Such unusual magnetic behavior is explained on the basis of magnetic interactions between Gd3+, Mn3+, and Cr3+ ions. The structural and magnetic properties of these perovskites have made possible more applications relating to magnetic switching and spintronic devices.