Crystal growth and magnetic characterization of HoIrSi (I4/mmm).

Single crystals of HoIrSi with the body-centered ThCrSi-type structure (I4/mmm) were grown by Bridgman method from indium flux. Single crystal structure determination yielded a Si-z position of 0.378(1) in the structure. We excluded the presence of the high temperature phase with the primitive CaBeGe-type structure (P4/nmm) by powder x-ray diffraction. Magnetic measurements on the single crystals yield a Néel temperature of [Formula: see text] K. In the inverse magnetic susceptibility a strong anisotropy with Weiss temperatures [Formula: see text] K and [Formula: see text] K occurs above T . The effective magnetic moment [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] is close to the expected value for a free Ho ion, [Formula: see text]. The field dependent magnetization shows a step-like behaviour due to crystalline electric field effects. The temperature and field dependence of the magnetization hint to the ordering of the magnetic moments along the c direction below T .