Mapping the magnetic phase diagram of the frustrated metamagnet CuFeO2

The magnetic phase diagram of CuFeO2 as a function of applied magnetic field and temperature is thoroughly explored and expanded, both for magnetic fields applied parallel and perpendicular to the material's c axis. Pulsed field magnetization measurements extend the typical magnetic staircase of CuFeO2 at various temperatures, demonstrating the persistence of the recently discovered high-field metamagnetic transition up to T-N2 approximate to 11 K in both field configurations. An extension of the previously introduced phenomenological spin model used to describe the high-field magnetization process [T. T. A. Lummen, C. Strohm, H. Rakoto, A. A. Nugroho, and P. H. M. van Loosdrecht, Phys. Rev. B 80, 012406 (2009)] is applied to each of the consecutive low-field commensurate spin structures, yielding a semiquantitative simulation and intuitive description of the entire experimental magnetization process in both relevant field directions with a single set of parameters.