Abstract
The intermetallic alloy, Mn2Ni1.4Ga0.6, has been investigated by x-ray diffraction, dc magnetization, and ac susceptibility measurements. The material exhibits a non-modulated tetragonal structure, and undergoes a ferromagnetic transition near room temperature. Ac susceptibility and dc magnetization measurements show that below the Curie temperature, short range ferromagnetic ordering and reentrant spin glass state coexist in the material. A cooling field dependent exchange bias effect, with a maximum exchange bias field of 730 Oe, for a cooling field of 1 kOe, has also been observed in the material. The experimental observations suggest that the exchange bias effect in Mn2Ni1.4Ga0.6 is a result of the interaction between the coexisting spin glass and short range ferromagnetic ordering in the material. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.