Magnetic domain structure of terbium single crystals

A single crystal of terbium was obtained in which the oxide content had been considerably reduced by a solid state electrolysis technique. The domain structure in a cube shaped sample was observed at 210K and different possibilities for the internal domain configuration are considered. Agreement is found between experimental observations and a proposed model which consists of plate type domains magnetized along the b 1 and b 3 axes, but not along the b 2 axis, which is perpendicular to one surface. The equilibrium domain width was measured and compared with that calculated for this model and agreement was found to be good. The structure at lower temperatures was studied, but it is still not clear whether the pattern observed represents a true domain structure.