The Magnetic/Electrical Phase Diagram of Cr-Doped Antiperovskite CompoundsGaCFe3−xCrx(0≤

Abstract

We report the effect of Cr doping on the structural, magnetic, and electrical transport properties in Cr-doped antiperovskite compoundsGaCFe3−xCrx(0≤x≤0.9). With increasing the Cr contentx, the lattice constant increases while both the Curie temperature and the saturated magnetization decrease gradually. The electrical resistivity shows different behaviors as a function ofx. Forx≤0.6, there exists a semiconductor-like behavior below a certain temperature which decreases with increasingx. In contrast, for0.7≤x≤0.9, the resistivity shows a metallic behavior in the whole temperature measured (2–350 K). In particular, the Fermi-liquid behavior is obtained below 70 K. Finally, based on the magnetic and electrical properties ofGaCFe3−xCrx(0≤x≤0.9) a magnetic/electrical phase diagram was plotted.