Phase equilibria in MnSb2Te4-GeSb2Te4 system and magnetic properties of Mn1-xGexSb2Te4 solid solutions
As a sister compound of the antiferromagnetic topological insulator MnBi2Te4, MnSb2Te4 is also a candidate for exotic magnetic topological phases. On the other hand, the structurally analogous but nonmagnetic phase-change material GeSb2Te4 is also known to exhibit nontrivial band topology. Motivated by their shared crystal structure, the similar ionic radii of Mn2+ and Ge2+, and the opportunity to explore the interplay between magnetism and topology, here we investigate the effects of Ge substitution at Mn sites in MnSb2Te4. The Mn1-xGexSb2Te4 solid solutions were synthesized via high-temperature solid-state reaction and characterized for composition, structure, phase behavior, and magnetism using SEM-EDS, PXRD, DTA, and SQUID. Ge substitution was successful across the full composition range, producing homogeneous, single-phase samples that melt via peritectic reactions, as confirmed by the MnSb2Te4GeS-b2Te4 phase diagram. Ge substitution strengthens the sample's paramagnetism, but with ferrimagnetic ordering up to x = 0.75, with both effective moment and saturation magnetization decreasing with increasing Ge content. Two distinct magnetic transitions - high-temperature paramagnetic to ferrimagnetic and low-temperature ferrimagnetic to ferromagnetic - were identified, with a dome-like shape dependence of the low-temperature magnetic transition on Ge substitution. A negative magnetization was observed in the pristine MnSb2Te4 and x = 0.12 substituted samples, while two distinct spin-flop transitions appeared in the samples with x = 0.32 and x = 0.55 Ge substitutions as a result of competing magnetic orderings. These findings facilitate future selective single-crystal growth of homogeneous, magnetic phases, paving the way for magneto-transport and topological surface states investigations.