ISIS Neutron and Muon Source Data Journal

M'-LnTaO4: a model for the 2D square lattice of magnetic ions

Abstract: The lanthanide tantalates LnTaO4 are a family of materials which have recently been investigated for their dielectric, luminescent and ion-conducting properties. In the M' phase, which can be stabilised for the heavier lanthanides Ln = Tb-Lu, the magnetic Ln3+ ions occupy a slightly distorted 2D square lattice. Magnetism in M'-YbTaO4 has recently been investigated as a model material for the Heisenberg J1-J2 square lattice model, which is geometrically frustrated because of competition between the exchange interactions J1 (sides of squares) and J2 (diagonals). Our initial study of four monoclinic M'-LnTaO4 compounds (Ln = Tb, Dy, Ho, Er) reveals Curie-Weiss behaviour with antiferromagnetic ordering in TbTaO4 and DyTaO4 at 2.7 K, and no ordering above 1.8 K in the Ho and Er compounds. We propose a nuclear and magnetic neutron diffraction study at 1.5, 30 and 300 K in order to confirm the crystal structure and determine the magnetic structure of M'-TbTaO4.

Principal Investigator: Dr Nicola Kelly
Experimenter: Dr Jeongjae Lee
Local Contact: Dr Ivan da Silva Gonzalez
Experimenter: Professor Sian Dutton
Experimenter: Mr James Steele

DOI: 10.5286/ISIS.E.RB2520021

ISIS Experiment Number: RB2520021

Publisher: STFC ISIS Neutron and Muon Source

Data format: RAW/Nexus
Select the data format above to find out more about it.

Data Citation

The recommended format for citing this dataset in a research publication is as:
[author], [date], [title], [publisher], [doi]

For Example:
Dr Nicola Kelly et al; (2025): M'-LnTaO4: a model for the 2D square lattice of magnetic ions, STFC ISIS Neutron and Muon Source, https://doi.org/10.5286/ISIS.E.RB2520021

Data is released under the CC-BY-4.0 license.