Single Crystal Growth of FeRh from AuPb Flux

FeRh compound has been known for a long time as an itinerant magnet with a peculiar first-order antiferromagnetic (AFM) to ferromagnetic (FM) transition near room temperature. Although a lot of work has been done [1,2], the origin of the physical properties associated with the AFM to FM transition is still an ongoing debate and needs deeper investigation using a good single-crystal, single-phase material. Here, we report the single crystal growth of FeRh from the AuPb flux and confirm it by Laue diffraction, four-circle diffractometer measurements, and EPMA elemental analysis. These new single crystals will pave the way for a comprehensive understanding of the long-standing issues of the FeRh compound [3]. As expected, the preliminary measurement results, such as magnetization, are different from those previously reported.

[1] L. H. Lewis, C. H. Marrows, and S. Langridge, J. Phy. D 49, 323002 (2016).

[2] R.R Gimaev, A. A. Vaulin, A. F. Gubkin, and V. I. Zverev, Phys. Met. Mettalogr. 125, 823 (2020).

[3] A. Chirkova, K. P. Skokov, L. Schultz, N. V. Baranov, O. Gutfleisch, and T. G. Woodcock, Acta Mater. 106, 15 (2016).