Influence of periodic and random local crystal fields on magnetic properties of NdxY1−xCo5 compounds

Abstract The magnetization processes have been studied for single crystals of Nd x Y 1− x Co 5 compounds in magnetic fields up to 360 kOe at temperatures 4.2–300 K. The experimental results have been used for determination of parameters of crystal field (CF) splitting of the energy levels of the ground J multiplet of Nd 3+ ions. A single set of CF parameters was found for all x values and all temperatures from above-mentioned range allowing satisfactory description of all experimental magnetization curves. An alternative set of parameters was obtained assuming presence, in studied compounds, of local random CFs generated by impurities (for instance, absorbed hydrogen).