Electronic and magnetic properties of intermetallic Kagome magnets $R$V$_6$Sn$_6$ ($R$ = Tb - Tm)

Abstract

We present a systematic study of the structure, electronic, and magnetic properties of a new branch of intermetalllic compounds, RV6Sn6 (R = Tb -Tm) by using X-ray diffraction, magnetic susceptibility, magnetization, electrical transport, and heat-capacity measurements. These compounds feature a combination of a non-magnetic vanadium kagome sublattice and a magnetic rare-earth triangular sublattice that supports various spin anisotropies based on different R ions. We find magnetic orders for the R = Tb, Dy, and Ho compounds at 4.4, 3, 2.5 K, respectively, while no ordering is detected down to 0.4 K for the R = Er and Tm compounds with easy-plane anisotropies. Electronically, we found no superconductivity or charge ordering transition down to 0.4 K for any member of this family, while all compounds exhibit multi-band transport properties that originate from the band topology of the vanadium kagome sublattice.