Abstract
The novel intermetallic compound Sm(2)Au(1.1)Ge(2.9) was synthesized using an arc-melting method. A detailed analysis of its crystallographic structure, magnetic and thermal properties has been documented. Powder X-ray diffraction analysis indicated that this compound crystallizes in a disordered variant of the AlB(2)-type structure (space group P6/mmm, no. 191) with lattice parameters a = 4.2495(1) Å and c = 4.1300(1) Å. The exact nature of magnetic properties of this intermetallic compound was investigated both by AC and DC magnetization measurements including time evolution of remnant magnetization and magnetic memory effect studies. The investigation of magnetic properties was supplemented by measurements of heat capacity with and without an applied magnetic field. The new Sm(2)Au(1.1)Ge(2.9) compound is found to exhibit a cluster glass transition at surprisingly high temperature T(f)(39 Hz) = 21.9 K. Such a high phase transition temperature makes this material a promising candidate for technical applications e.g. in magnetic memory devices.