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Abstract:
Mn3.04Ge0.96 has a hexagonal crystal structure, which can be stabilized
by high-temperature annealing, and shows antiferromagnetic order with a
small ferromagnetic component of less than 0.1 mu(B) and a coercivity of
0.45 T. In the ordered phase, magnetization curves M(H) exhibit an
exchange bias of 62 mT at T = 2K after field cooling, which is
observable up to room temperature. The exchange anisotropy is suggested
to originate from the exchange interaction between the host of
triangular-antiferromagnetic Mn3Ge units and embedded ferrimagnetic-like
clusters. Such clusters develop when excess Mn atoms occupy empty Ge
sites in the original triangular-antiferromagnetic structure of Mn3Ge.