Formation and magnetic properties of Dy2Fe17-x Mnx C(x = 0-17) prepared by arc-melting

We report on alloys formed by replacing iron with manganese in the compound Dy₂Fe₁₇C_1.0. Samples were characterized by x-ray diffraction and magnetic measurements. The 2:17-type structure can be crystallized in the whole range of manganese substitution. The Curie temperature of the series of Dy₂Fe_17-xMn_xC_1.0(x = 0-17) drops down considerably from 515 K for x = 0 to about 20 K for compounds with high manganese concentration, and the compensation point was observed in a narrow range of x approx 4-6. The rapid decrease of the magnetization shows that the manganese substitution is not a simple magnetic dilution to the transition-metal sublattice moment, it indicates that the moment of Mn may be antiparallel to that of Fe. The field dependence of the magnetization of Dy₂Fe_17-xMn_xC_1.0 may indicate the existence of the nonlinear magnetic structure for the samples with high Mn concentrations.