First order Field Induced Magnetization Processes and Magnetostriction in Tb2Co12Fe5

We report the results of magnetization and magnetostriction measurements
performed by pulsed-magnetic-field techniques on the intermetallic compound
Tb2Co12Fe5. The temperature dependence of the critical field at which the firstorder
magnetization process takes place was measured by a singular point detection
technique on aligned powders. Magnetostriction measurements were performed by a
strain-gauge-based technique at different temperatures. The obtained results are compared
with observations recently made for the closely related compound Pr2Co12Fe5,
allowing to clarify the crucial role of both the rare-earth and the transition-metal sublattices
in the peculiar behaviour of the latter.