Magnetism of Rare Earth Tetraborides

The rare earth tetraborides REB₄ with RE = Ho, Er, Tm, crystallize in a tetragonal lattice where the positions of the RE ions can be mapped to a Shastry-Sutherland lattice. We have investigated the magnetic properties by means of magnetisation and specific heat experiments in a magnetic field. All compounds are anisotropic, with RE = Er, Tm they are strong Ising magnets, for RE = Ho we find xy anisotropy. In magnetic field we find complex behaviour with a number of different phases as a function of applied field, field direction and temperature. Remarkable is the observation of fractional magnetisation plateaux for magnetic field || (001) in HoB₄ and TmB₄.