Spin‐glass state induced low field magnetization‐step effect in a Hg 1− x Mn x Te single crystal

The low field magnetization‐step effect was observed in the spin‐glass (SG) regime of p‐type Hg 0.8 Mn 0.2 Te single crystal when the temperature was less than about 3 K. The main features of this effect were (i) the magnetic susceptibility suddenly reduced to almost zero as the magnetic field decreased below a critical value; (ii) the critical magnetic field correlated reversely to temperature. In addition, X‐ray diffraction, Raman scattering, and temperature‐dependent Hall measurements manifested this effect was the intrinsic nature of the Hg 1 − xMn x Te single crystal. Qualitative theoretical analysis suggests that the possible mechanism of low field magnetization‐step effect is the combined effect of SG transition and (long‐range) antiferromagnetic interactions among Mn 2 +ions in randomly frustrated spins system.