The symmetry properties, order parameters, and magnetoelectric phase diagrams of multiferroics are discussed. After brief reviews of Ni$_3$V$_2$O$_8$, TbMnO$_3$, and RbFe(MoO$_4$)$_2$, we present a detailed analysis of RMn$_2$O$_5$ (with R=Y, Ho, Dy, Er, Tb, Tm).
Electric and magnetic properties of multiferroic GdMn2O5 in external magnetic fields were investigated to map out the magnetoelectric phases in this material. Due to strong magnetoelectric coupling, the dielectric permittivity is highly sensitive to phase boundaries in GdMn2O5, which allowed to construct the field-temperature phase diagrams. Several phase transitions are observed which are strongly field-dependent with respect to field orientation and strength. The phase diagram for a magnetic field along the crystallographic a-axis corresponds well to a polarization step, as induced by 90 deg…
The structural transformation of multiferroic EuTiO$_3$ has been intensively investigated by synchrotron x-ray diffraction at pressures up to 50.3 GPa and temperatures from 50 to 500 K. An antiferrodistortive phase transition from cubic Pm-3m to tetragonal I4/mcm space group has been observed, identical to the one that has been previously explored at ambient pressure and low temperatures. Several compression/decompression cycles at different temperatures have been carried out to accurately map the transition, and as a result a P-T phase diagram for EuTiO$_3$ has been constructed. The observed …
The incommensurate magnetic structures and phase diagrams of multiferroics has been explored on the basis of accurate micromagnetic analysis taking into account the spin flexoelecric interaction (Lifshitz invariant). The objects of the study are BiFeO_3-like single crystals and epitaxial films grown on the <111> substrates. The main control parameters are the magnetic field, the magnetic anisotropy, and the epitaxial strain in the case of films. We predict novel quasi-cycloidal structures induced by external magnetic field or by epitaxial strain in the BiFeO_3-films. Phase diagrams representin…
The generic magnetic phase diagram of multiferroic RMn$_2$O$_5$ (with R=Y, Ho, Tb, Er, Tm), which allows different sequences of ordered magnetic structures for different R's and different control parameters, is described using order parameters which explicitly incorporate the magnetic symmetry. A phenomenological magneto-electric coupling is used to explain why some of these magnetic phases are also ferroelectric. Several new experiments, which can test this theory, are proposed.
The Landau theory was applied to treat the phase diagrams for a multiferroic with two second order phase transitions taking into account the coupling of the primary order parameters with strain. Two order parameters are coupled biquadratically which corresponds to the magnetoelectric materials. The coupling with strain is assumed to be linear in strain and quadratic in order parameters. Three ordered phases are discussed. Analytic relationships were obtained for the phase transition temperatures and for elastic modulus changes through the phase transitions. Strong influence of the coupling wit…
The pressure-temperature phase diagram of multiferroic $Ni_3V_2O_8$ is investigated for hydrostatic pressures up to 2 GPa. The stability range of the ferroelectric phase associated with the incommensurate helical spin order is reduced by pressure and ferroelectricity is completely suppressed at the critical pressure of 1.64 GPa at 6.2 K. Thermal expansion measurements at ambient pressure show strong step-like anomalies of the lattice parameters associated with the lock-in transition into the commensurate paraelectric phase. The expansion anomalies are highly anisotropic, the related volume cha…
We present a theoretical analysis of the temperature-magnetic field-concentration phase diagram of the multiferroic Mn$_{1-x}$M$_{x}$WO$_{4}$ (M=Fe, Zn, Mg), which exhibits three ordered phases, with collinear and non-collinear incommensurate and with a commensurate magnetic order. The middle phase is also ferroelectric. The analysis uses a semi-phenomenological Landau theory, based on a Heisenberg Hamiltonian with a single-ion anisotropy. With a small number of adjustable parameters, the Landau theory gives an excellent fit to all three transition lines, as well as the magnetic and the ferroe…
This review devoted to multiferroic properties of Bismuth-based perovskites falls into two parts. The first part focuses on BiFeO3 and summarizes the recent progress made in the studies of its pressure-temperature phase diagram and magnetoelectric coupling phenomena. The second part discusses in a more general way the issue of polar - and multiferroic - phases in BiBO3 perovskites and the competition between ferroelectricity and other structural instabilities, from an inventory of recently synthetized compounds.
Macroscopic properties of multiferroics, the systems that show simultaneously two types of ordering, could be controlled by the external fields of different nature. We analyze the behavior of multiferroics with antiferro-(AFM) and ferromagnetic (FM) ordering under the action of external magnetic and stress fields. A combination of these two fields makes it possible to achieve macroscopic states with different domain structures. The two-domain state obtained in this way shows a linear dependence of macroscopic strain vs magnetic field which is unusual for AFMs. A small but nonzero stress applie…
The magnetoelastic coupling in multiferroic $DyMn_2O_5$ is investigated by magnetostriction measurements along the three crystallographic orientations. Strong lattice anomalies as a function of the magnetic field are detected at the low temperature magnetic and ferroelectric phase transitions. The sign and magnitude of the magnetostrictive coefficient as well as the lattice anomalies at the transitions are correlated with the Dy moment order and with the sharp changes of the dielectric constant and the ferroelectric polarization. With the magnetic field applied along the c-axis a new high-fiel…
Single-phase multiferroic materials are usually considered useless because of the weak magnetoelectric effects, low operating temperature, and small electric polarization induced by magnetic orders. As a result, current studies on applications of the magnetoelectric effects are mainly focusing on multiferroic heterostructures and composites. Here we report a room-temperature giant effect in response to external magnetic fields in single-phase multiferroics. A low magnetic field of 1000 Oe applied on the spin-driven multiferroic hexaferrites BaSrCo2Fe11AlO22 and Ba0.9Sr1.1Co2Fe11AlO22 is able t…
Orthorhombically distorted perovskite manganites, RMnO3 with R being a trivalent rare-earth ion, exhibit a variety of magnetic and electric phases including multiferroic (i.e. concurrently magnetic and ferroelectric) phases and fascinating magnetoelectric phenomena. We theoretically study the phase diagram of RMnO3 by constructing a microscopic spin model, which includes not only the superexchange interaction but also the single-ion anisotropy (SIA) and the Dzyaloshinsky-Moriya interaction (DMI). Analysis of this model using the Monte-Carlo method reproduces the experimental phase diagrams as …
The morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) in the magnetoelectric multiferroic BiFeO3-PbTiO3 is shown to be uniquely dependent on crystallite size. The system exhibits the phenomenon of abnormal grain growth (AGG) during sintering with abrupt increase in the grain size from ~ 1 micron to ~ 10 microns. The large sized free crystallites (10 microns) exhibit pure tetragonal phase. Phase coexistence sets in after reducing the size to ~ 1 micron. These results prove that size, and not the internal stress, as the controlling mechanism for stabilizing phase coexistence in this system.
We present a strategy to design structures for which a polar lattice distortion induces weak ferromagnetism. We identify a large class of multiferroic oxides as potential realizations and use density-functional theory to screen several promising candidates. By elucidating the interplay between the polarization and the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya vector, we show how the direction of the magnetization can be switched between 180$^{\circ}$ symmetry equivalent states with an applied electric field.
We present an ab initio study of the BFCO solid solution formed by multiferroics BiFeO3 (BFO) and BiCoO3 (BCO). We find that BFCO presents a strongly discontinuous morphotropic transition between BFO-like and BCO-like ferroelectric phases. Further, for all compositions such phases remain (meta)stable and retain well-differentiated properties. Our results thus suggest that an electric field can be used to switch between these structures, and show that such a switching involves large phase-change effects of various types, including piezoelectric, electric, and magnetoelectric ones.
Multiferroics in which giant ferroelectric polarization and magnetism coexist are of tremendous potential for engineering disruptive applications in information storage and energy conversion. Yet the functional properties of multiferroics are thought to be affected detrimentally by the presence of point defects, which may be abundant due to the volatile nature of some constituent atoms and high temperatures involved in materials preparation. Here, we demonstrate with theoretical methods that oxygen vacancies may enhance the functionality of multiferroics by radically changing their magnetic in…
Pressure-induced phase transitions of multiferroic BiFeO3 have been investigated using synchrotron radiation X-ray diffraction with diamond anvil cell technique at room temperature. Present experimental data clearly show that rhombohedral (R3c) phase of BiFeO3 first transforms to monoclinic (C2/m) phase at 7 GPa, then to orthorhombic (Pnma) phase at 11 GPa, which is consistent with recent theoretical ab initio calculation. However, we observe another peak at 2θ=7° in the pressure range of 5-7 GPa that has not been reported previously. Further analysis reveals that this reflection peak is attri…
The coexistence and coupling of magnetic and ferroelectric orderings in single phase multiferroics has evinced enormous scientific interest as it involves breaking of time reversal and space inversion symmetries in the same material. The mutual controllability of the two diverse orderings in multiferroics has potential for developing new generation multifunctional sensor, actuator and data storage devices. We present here evidence for a new exotic facet of multiferroicity, whereby one can raise the strength of antiferromagnetic (AFM) superexchange interaction and hence tune the Néel temperatur…
The complete magnetic and multiferroic phase diagram of Mn$_{1-x}$Co$_{x}$WO$_4$ single crystals is investigated by means of magnetic, heat capacity, and polarization experiments. We show that the ferroelectric polarization $\overrightarrow{P}$ in the multiferroic state abruptly changes its direction twice upon increasing Co content, x. At x$_{c1}$=0.075, $\overrightarrow{P}$ rotates from the $b-$axis into the $a-c$ plane and at x$_{c2}$=0.15 it flips back to the $b-$axis. The origin of the multiple polarization flops is identified as an effect of the Co anisotropy on the orientation and shape…
High resolution ultrasonic velocity measurements have been used to determine the temperature -- magnetic-field phase diagram of the monoclinic multiferroic CuO. A new transition at TN3 = 230 K, corresponding to an intermediate state between the antiferromagnetic non-collinear spiral phase observed below TN2 = 229.3 K and the paramagnetic phase, is revealed. Anomalies associated with a first order transition to the commensurate collinear phase are also observed at TN1 = 213 K. For fields with B along the b axis, a spin-flop transition is detected between 11 T - 13 T at lower temperatures. Moreo…
Ferroics, characterized by a broken symmetry state with nonzero elastic, polar, or magnetic order parameters $\vec{u}$, are recognized platforms for staging and manipulating topologically-protected structures as well as for detecting unconventional topological phenomena. The unrealized possibility of producing ordered topological phases in magnetoelectric multiferroics, exhibiting coupled magnetic and polar order parameters, is anticipated to engender novel functionality and open avenues for manipulating topological features. Here, we report the discovery of an ordered $π_1$-$S_\infty$ vortex …
We present the results of detailed dielectric investigations of the relaxation dynamics in DyMnO$_3$ multiferroic manganite. Strong low-frequency relaxation process near the paraelectric-ferroelectric phase transition is observed. The high frequency mode is directly to the relaxational motion of multiferroic domain walls. We provide an experimental evidence that this relaxation mode corresponds to a chirality switching of the spin cycloid in DyMnO$_3$. We demonstrate that the relaxation dynamics in DyMnO$_3$ is typical for an order-disorder phase transition and may be understood within a simpl…
We have studied YMnO$_{3}$ by high-temperature synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction, and have carried out differential thermal analysis and dilatometry on a single crystal sample. These experiments show two phase transitions at about 1100K and 1350K, respectively. This demonstrates the existence of an intermediate phase between the room temperature ferroelectric and the high temperature centrosymmetric phase. This study identifies for the first time the different high-temperature phase transitions in YMnO$_{3}$.
Tuning the lattice degree of freedom in nanoscale functional crystals is critical to exploit the emerging functionalities such as piezoelectricity, shape-memory effect, or piezomagnetism, which are attributed to the intrinsic lattice-polar or lattice-spin coupling. Here it is reported that a mechanical probe can be a dynamic tool to switch the ferroic orders at the nanoscale multiferroic phase boundaries in BiFeO 3 with a phase mixture, where the material can be reversibly transformed between the "soft" tetragonal-like and the "hard" rhombohedrallike structures. The microscopic origin of the n…
We used first-principles methods to perform a systematic search for potentially-stable phases of multiferroic BiFeO3. We considered a simulation cell compatible with the atomic distortions that are most common among perovskite oxides, and found a large number of local minima of the energy within 100 meV/f.u. of the ferroelectric ground state. We discuss the variety of low-symmetry structures discovered, as well as the implications of these findings as regards current experimental (e.g., on thin films displaying {\em super-tetragonal} phases) and theoretical (on models for BiFeO3's structural p…
The commensurate phase of multiferroic HoMn2O5 was studied by X-ray magnetic scattering, both off resonance and in resonant conditions at the Ho-L3 edge. Below 40 K, magnetic ordering at the Ho sites is induced by the main Mn magnetic order parameter, and its temperature dependence is well accounted for by a simple Curie-Weiss susceptibility model. A lattice distortion of periodicity twice that of the magnetic order is also evidenced. Azimuthal scans confirm the model of the magnetic structure recently refined from neutron diffraction data for both Mn and Ho sites, indicating that the two subl…
We have constructed dichromatic matrices of property coefficients for all 1601 Aizu species. This involves 122 non-magnetic Aizu species and extends the work to the 773 species of phase transitions from disordered magnetic prototypic (parent) phases and the 616 species from ordered magnetic prototypic phases. In addition to coefficients describing the non-magnetic effects we have included the coefficients of pyromagnetic, magnetoelectric, piezomagnetic effects, and magnetic susceptibility. All components of these property tensors are displayed in 13 by 13 matrices; non-zero components of the p…
We have used a shell model to study the phonon dynamics of multiferroic manganites RMnO3 (R= Tb, Dy, Ho). The calculated phonon dynamical properties, crystal structure, Raman frequencies and specific heat are found to be in good agreement with the available experimental data. Besides, the phonon density of states, elastic constants and phonon dispersion curves along high symmetry directions (sigma, delta and lambda) have also been computed. A zone-center imaginary Au mode is revealed in these phonon dispersion curves, which indicates the occurrence of metastability of the perovskite phase. The…
We report the low-temperature coexistence in NdFe3(BO3)4 of an incommensurate magnetic phase with a strained commensurate magnetic phase that is primarily at the surface of the crystal. Increasing the temperature or magnetic field decreases the incommensurability and stabilizes the commensurate magnetic phase above Tic ~14 K or Hic = 0.9 T. A comparison to published studies indicates the onset of longitudinal magnetostriction and electric polarization at the magnetic-field-induced transition, which may arise due to a basal plane spin-flop and canting of the moments along the field direction.
We propose experimental verification and theoretical explanation of magnetic anomalies in the complex Fe-contained double perovskite multiferroics like PbFe$_{1/2}$Nb$_{1/2}$O$_3$. The theoretical part is based on our model of coexistence of long-range magnetic order and spin glass in the above substances. In our model, the exchange interaction is anisotropic, coupling antiferromagnetically $z$ spin components of Fe$^{3+}$ ions. At the same time, the $xy$ components are coupled by much weaker exchange interaction of ferromagnetic sign. In the system with spatial disorder (half of corresponding…
Multiferroicity can be induced in strontium titanate by applying biaxial strain, resulting in the coexistence of both ferroelectric and antiferrodistortive domains. The magnitude and sign of the strain imposed on the lattice by design can be used to tune the phase transitions and interactions between these two phenomena. Using optical second harmonic generation, we report a transition from centrosymmetric 4/mmm phase to ferroelectric mm2, followed by an antiferrodistortive transition to a coupled ferroelastic-ferroelectric mm2 phase in a strontium titanate thin film strained in biaxial tension…
We report on the single phase synthesis and room temperature structural characterization of PbFe0.67W0.33O3 (PFW) multiferroic. The PFW was synthesized by low temperature sintering, Columbite method. Analysis of powder XRD pattern exhibits single phase formation of PFW with no traces of pyrochlore phase. Detailed analysis of room temperature neutron diffraction (ND) reveals cubic phase at room temperature, space group Pm-3m. The ND pattern clearly reveals magnetic Bragg peak at 2theeta = 18.51 (Q = 1.36Å-1). The refinement of magnetic structure reveals G-type antiferromagnetic structure in PFW…
With the perovskite multiferroic RMnO3 (R = Gd, Tb, Dy) as guidance, we argue that the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) provides the microscopic mechanism for the coexistence and strong coupling between ferroelectricity and incommensurate magnetism. We use Monte-Carlo simulations and zero temperature exact calculations to study a model incorporating the double-exchange, superexchange, Jahn-Teller and DMI terms. The phase diagram contains a multiferroic phase between A and E antiferromagnetic phases, in excellent agreement with experiments.
Our measured dielectric constant and mechanical response of multiferroic BiFeO3 indicate four phase transitions below room temperature. Features correlate with those reported at 50K (from a peak in the zero-field-cooled magnetic susceptibility) and 230K (from splitting between field-cooled and zero-field-cooled magnetic data[1], and 200K (from magnon light scattering cross sections[2]). The primary order parameter is not the polarization in any of the low-T transitions. Instead, the transition near 230 K shows strong elastic coupling, while that at 50K is fundamentally magnetic, but magnetostr…
Displacive martensitic phase transition is potentially promising in semiconductor based data storage applications with fast switching speed. In addition to traditional phase transition materials, the recently discovered two-dimensional ferroic materials are receiving lots of attention owing to their fast ferroic switching dynamics, which could tremendously boost data storage density and enhance read/write speed. In this study, we propose that a terahertz laser with an intermediate intensity and selected frequency can trigger ferroic order switching in two-dimensional multiferroics, which is a …
The multiferroic manganese tungstate (MnWO4) has been studied by high-pressure Raman spectroscopy at room temperature under quasi-hydrostatic conditions up to 39.3 GPa. The low-pressure wolframite phase undergoes a phase transition at 25.7 GPa, a pressure around 8 GPa higher than that found in previous works which used less hydrostatic pressure-transmitting media. The pressure dependence of the Raman active modes of both the low- and high-pressure phases are reported and discussed comparing with the results available in the literature for MnWO4 and related wolframites. A gradual pressure-induc…
Using an effective Hamiltonian of mutiferroic BiFeO$_3$ (BFO) as a toy model, we explore the effect of the coefficient, C, characterizing the strength of the spin-current interaction, on physical properties. We observe that for larger C values and below a critical temperature, the magnetic moments organize themselves in a novel cycloid which propagates along a low-symmetry direction and is associated with a structural phase transition from polar rhombohedral to a polar triclinic state. We emphasize that both of these magnetic and structural transitions are results of a remarkable self-organiza…
Epitaxial strain has been shown to drive structural phase transitions along with novel functionalities in perovskite-based thin-films. Aliovalent doping at the A-site can drive an insulator-to-metal and magnetic transitions in perovskites along with a variety of interesting structural and electronic phenomena. Using first-principles calculations, we demonstrate here, how coupling epitaxial strain with A-site hole doping in a multiferroic double perovskite, Bi2FeCrO6, could lead to mitigation of issues related to anti-site defects and lowered magnetisation in thin-films of the material. We also…
A morphotropic phase boundary driven by epitaxial strain has been observed in a lead-free multiferroic BiFeO3 thin films and the strain-driven phase transitions were widely reported to be iso-symmetric Cc-Cc ones by recent works. In this paper, we suggest that the tetragonal-like BiFeO3 phase identified in epitaxial films on (001) LaAlO3 single crystal substrates is monoclinic MC. This MC phase is different from MA type monoclinic phase reported in BiFeO3 films grown on low mismatch substrates, such as SrTiO3. This is confirmed not only by synchrotron x-ray studies but also by piezoresponse fo…
We investigate the crystal structure in multiferroic tetragonal perovskite Sr$_{1/2}$Ba$_{1/2}$MnO$_3$ with high accuracy of the order of 10$^{-3}$ Angstrom for an atomic displacement. The large atomic displacement for Mn ion from the centerosymmetric position, comparable with the off-centering distortion in the tetragonal ferroelectric BaTiO$_3$, is observed in the ferroelectric phase ($T_\mathrm{N}$ $\leq$ $T$ $\leq$ $T_\mathrm{C}$). In stark contrast, in the multiferroic phase ($T$ $\leq$ $T_\mathrm{N}$), the atomic displacement for Mn ion is suppressed, but those for O ions are enlarged. T…
We present here the results of structural studies on multiferroic (1-x)Bi(Ni1/2Ti1/2)O3-xPbTiO3 solid solution using Rietveld analysis on powder x-ray diffraction data in the composition range 0.35 to 0.55. We have determined precisely the stability region of various crystallographic phases at room temperature for (1-x)Bi(Ni1/2Ti1/2)O3-xPbTiO3 . Structural transformation from pseudo-cubic to tetragonal phase is observed via phase coexistence region demarcating the morphotropic phase boundary region. The morphotropic phase boundary region consists of coexisting tetragonal and monoclinic structu…
Magnetoelectric phase diagrams of the perovskite manganites, Eu1-xYxMnO3 and Gd1-xTbxMnO3, are theoretically studied. We first construct a microscopic model, and then analyze the model using the Monte-Carlo method. We reproduce the diagrams, which contain two different multiferroic states, i.e., the ab-plane spin cycloid with electric polarization P//a and the bc-plane spin cycloid with P//c. We reveal that their competition originates from a conflict between the single-ion anisotropy and the Dzyaloshinsky-Moriya interaction, which is controlled by the second-neighbor spin exchanges enhanced b…
LiCu_2O_2 single crystals were studied in the temperature range 300-1100 K by means of heating-cooling curves of differential thermal analysis (DTA), thermogravimetry (TG), X-ray powder diffraction and electrical measurements. A reversible first-order phase transition between orthorhombic and tetragonal phases was found to take place at 993 K. At the transition, a peak is observed in the DTA curves, as well as jumps of the unit cell parameters and electrical resistivity. Considering the crystal structure of LiCu_2O_2 and the entropy change associated with the phase transition, it is concluded …
The theoretical description of the nanostructured Pb(Fe1/2Ta1/2)x(Zr1/2Ti1/2)1-xO3 (PFTx-PZT(1-x)) and Pb(Fe1/2Nb1/2)x(Zr1/2Ti1/2)1-xO3 (PFNx-PZT(1-x)) intriguing ferromagnetic, ferroelectric and magnetoelectric properties at temperatures higher than 100 K are absent to date. The goal of this work is to propose the theoretical description of the physical nature and the mechanisms of the aforementioned properties, including room temperature ferromagnetism, phase diagram dependence on the composition x with a special attention to the multiferroic properties at room temperature, including anomalo…
Multiferroics are promising for sensor and memory applications, but despite all efforts invested in their research no single-phase material displaying both ferroelectricity and large magnetization at room-temperature has hitherto been reported. This situation has substantially been improved in the novel relaxor ferroelectric single-phase , where polar nanoregions (PNR) transform into static-PNR (SPNR) as evidenced by piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) and simultaneously enable congruent multiferroic clusters (MFC) to emerge from inherent ferrimagnetic Bi(Fe,Co)O3 regions as verified by magne…
We report on the spin-Hall magnetoresistance (SMR) and spin Seebeck effect (SSE) in multiferroic CoCr2O4 (CCO) spinel thin films with Pt contacts. We observe a large enhancement of both signals below the spin-spiral (Ts = 28 K) and the spin lock-in transitions (T_{lock_in} = 14 K). The SMR and SSE response in the spin lock-in phase are one order of magnitude larger than those observed at the ferrimagnetic transition temperature (Tc = 94 K), which indicates that the interaction between spins at the Pt|CCO interface is more efficient in the non-collinear magnetic state below Ts and T_{lock-in}. …
The phase diagram of quarter-hole-doped perovskite manganites is investigated using the doubleexchange model. An exotic striped type-II multiferroic phase, where 25% of the nearest-neighbor spin couplings are orthogonal to each other, is found in the narrow-bandwidth region. Comparing with the spiral-spin ordering phase of undoped manganites, the multiferroic Curie temperature of the new phase is estimated to be ~4 times higher, while the ferroelectric polarization is similar in magnitude. Our study provides a path for noncollinear spin multiferroics based on electronic self-organization, diff…
We report experimental evidence for pressure instabilities in the model multiferroic BiFeO3 and namely reveal two structural phase transitions around 3 GPa and 10 GPa by using diffraction and far-infrared spectroscopy at a synchrotron source. The intermediate phase from 3 to 9 GPa crystallizes in a monoclinic space group, with octahedra tilts and small cation displacements. When the pressure is further increased the cation displacements (and thus the polar character) of BiFeO3 is suppressed above 10 GPa. The above 10 GPa observed non-polar orthorhombic Pnma structure is in agreement with recen…
By performing accurate ab-initio density functional theory calculations, we study the role of $4f$ electrons in stabilizing the magnetic-field-induced ferroelectric state of DyFeO$_{3}$. We confirm that the ferroelectric polarization is driven by an exchange-strictive mechanism, working between adjacent spin-polarized Fe and Dy layers, as suggested by Y. Tokunaga [Phys. Rev. Lett, \textbf{101}, 097205 (2008)]. A careful electronic structure analysis suggests that coupling between Dy and Fe spin sublattices is mediated by Dy-$d$ and O-$2p$ hybridization. Our results are robust with respect to t…
Multiferroics offer exciting opportunities for electric-field control of magnetism. Unfortunately, single-phase multiferroics suitable for such applications at room temperature has not been discovered. Here, we propose the concept of a new type of multiferroics, namely, "asymmetric multiferroic". In asymmetric multiferroics, two locally stable ferroelectric states are not symmetrically equivalent, leading to different magnetic properties between these two states. Furthermore, we predict from first-principles that a Fe-Cr-Mo superlattice with the LiNbO3-type structure is such an asymmetric mult…
The magnetoelectric effect and skyrmions are two fundamental phenomena in the field of condensed-matter physics. Here, using first-principles calculations and Monte-Carlo simulations, we propose that strong magnetoelectric coupling can be demonstrated in a multiferroic heterobilayer consisting of two-dimensional (2D) MnSTe and α-In2Se3. As the electric polarization in ferroelectric α-In2Se3 is switched, the creation and annihilation of topological magnetic phase can be achieved in this multiferroic heterobilayer, giving rise to the intriguing ferroelectrically controllable skyrmions. This feat…
In this work, we have designed obtained a novel multiferroic nanocomposite using the high-pressure torsion (HPT) method. The crystal structure, phase composition, morphology, ferromagnetic (FM) and ferroelectric (FE) properties of the initial powders and "multiferroic-ferromagnetic" nanocomposites have been studied comprehensively. The initial powders and their composites show the perovskite and spinel crystalline phases for the FE and FM fractions, respectively. After HPT, the particle sizes of the initial powders are decreased significantly. It is shown that the novel nanocomposite consists …
Infrared reflectance spectra of an epitaxial Bi2FeCrO6 thin film prepared by pulsed laser deposition on LaAlO3 substrate were recorded between 10 and 900 K. No evidence for a phase transition to the paraelectric phase was observed, but some phonon anomalies were revealed near 600 K. Most of the polar modes exhibit only a gradual softening, which results in a continuous increase of the static permittivity on heating. It indicates that the ferroelectric phase transition should occur somewhere above 900 K. Magnetic measurements performed up to 1000 K, revealed a possible magnetic phase transition…
Cycloidal spin orders are common in multiferroics. One of the prototypical examples is BiFeO3 (BFO) which shows a large polarization and a cycloidal antiferromagnetic order at room temperature. Here we employ Landau theory and phase-field simulations to analyze the coupled switching dynamics of polarization and cycloidal antiferromagnetic orders in BFO. We are able to identify 14 types of transitional spin structures between two cycloids and 9 electric-field-induced spin switching paths. We demonstrate the electric-field-induced rotation of wave vectors of the cycloidal spins and discover 2 ty…
The high Curie temperature multiferroic compound, CuO, has a quasidegenerate magnetic ground state that makes it prone to manipulation by the so called ``order-by-disorder'' mechanism. First principle computations supplemented with Monte Carlo simulations and experiments show that isovalent doping allows to stabilize the multiferroic phase in non-ferroelectric regions of the pristine material phase-diagram with experiments reaching a 250% widening of the ferroelectric temperature window with 5% of Zn doping. Our results allow to validate the importance of a quasidegenerate ground state on prom…
We have carried out an extensive phonon study on multiferroic GaFeO3 to elucidate its dynamical behavior. Inelastic neutron scattering measurements are performed over a wide temperature range, 150 to 1198 K. First principles lattice dynamical calculations are done for the sake of the analysis and interpretation of the observations. The comparison of the phonon spectra from magnetic and non-magnetic calculations highlights pronounced differences. The energy range of the vibrational atomistic contributions of the Fe and O ions are found to differ significantly in the two calculation types. There…
Magnetic phase transitions in multiferroic bismuth ferrite (BiFeO3) induced by magnetic field, epitaxial strain, and composition modification are considered. These transitions from a spatially modulated spin spiral state to a homogenous antiferromagnetic one are accompanied by the release of latent magnetization and a linear magnetoelectric effect that makes BiFeO3-based materials efficient room-temperature single phase multiferroics.