| Resumo: | The evolution of the crystal structure and magnetic properties with Fe content in NdFexGa1-xO3 has been studied by magnetization, ac-susceptibility, x-ray and neutron scattering techniques for x ≥ 0.2 in order to determine the phase diagram of the series. X-ray diffraction shows that the crystallographic structure of NdFexGa 1-xO3 can be described in the space group Pbnm for all x values. Both the magnetic ordering and spin reorientation temperatures of the Fe magnetic sublattice decrease with iron concentration due to the presence of magnetic vacancies occupied by Ga. The long-range Fe magnetic ordering disappears for x ≤ 0.3, while ac-susceptibility measurements evidence the presence of short-range Fe ordered clusters and superspin-glass-like effects for x well below the percolation threshold. The magnetic structure of the compounds, including the spin reorientation temperature range, is determined by high-resolution neutron diffraction analysis. Although the presence of finite magnetic clusters for x values close to percolation is evidenced, the study of a percolation quantum phase transition in this series is hindered by the presence of Nd magnetic moments and a sizeable distribution of composition Ax around the nominal value. © 2011 IOP Publishing Ltd.
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