Magnetic ordering in Fe-doped TlInTe2 chain-like crystals

Magnetic properties of Fe-doped TlInTe2 chain-like single crystals grown using a modified Bridgman-Stockbarger method were investigated. Room temperature magnetic resonance and static magnetization measurements in a wide temperature interval between -10 and -300 K were performed. It was revealed that the electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) signals detected at room temperature are well fitted under the assumption that unpaired electrons of Fe ions with the local spin S = 5/2 are predominately located in a tetrahedral/octahedral coordination environment. The temperature dependence of magnetization was recorded on zero-field cooling (ZFC) and field cooling (FC) regimes. It was found from the magnetization measurements that the intrinsically nonmagnetic TlInTe2 ternary semiconductor crystal exhibits distinct ferromagnetic properties after doping by Fe ions with a concentration of -0.56 at %. The magnetic properties of the Fe-doped TlInTe2 compound are discussed using the results of first-principles calculations based on density functional theory (DFT).