Investigation of the intrinsic magnetic properties of GdCo4B single crystal: determination of the magnetocrystalline anisotropy from the first-order magnetization processes

We report on the intrinsic magnetic properties of a GdCo4B single crystal as derived from magnetization measurements. The occurrence of a first-order magnetization process (FOMP) in a magnetic field applied perpendicularly to the easy magnetization direction provides an opportunity to determine the anisotropy parameters K1 and K2. To this end, the theoretical approach proposed previously for easy-plane magnets has been adapted for the case of …