Using Landau-Ginzburg-Devonshire theory we describe 180-degree domain wall structure, intrinsic energy and carrier accumulation in rhombohedral phase of BaTiO3 as a function of the wall orientation and flexoelectric coupling strength. Two types of domain wall structures (phases of the wall) exist depending on the wall orientation. The low-energy 'achiral' phase occurs in the vicinity of the {110} wall orientation and has odd polarization profile invariant with respect to inversion about the wall center. The second 'chiral' phase occurs around {211} wall orientations and corresponds to mixed parity domain walls that may be of left-handed or right-handed chirality. The transformation between the phases is abrupt, accompanied with 20-30% change of the domain wall thickness and can happen at fixed wall orientation with temperature change. We suggest that the phase transition may be detected through domain wall thickness change or by c-AFM. The structure of the domain wall is correlated to its conductivity through polarization component normal to the domain wall, which causes free carriers accumulation. Depending on the temperature and flexoelectric coupling strength relative conductivity of the wall becomes at least one order of magnitude higher than in the single-domain region, creating c-AFM contrast enhancement pronounced and detectable.
Based on the relativistic spin-polarized density functional theory calculations we investigate the crystal structure, electronic and magnetic properties of a family MnPn2Ch4 compounds, where pnictogen metal atoms (Pn) are Sb and Bi; chalcogens (Ch) are Se, Te. We show that in the series the compounds of this family with heavier elements prefer to adopt rhombohedral crystal structure composed of weakly bonded septuple monoatomic layers while those with lighter elements tend to be in the monoclinic structure. Irrespective of the crystal structure all compounds of the MnPn2Ch4 series demonstrate …
Ferroelectric domain walls (FDWs) are usually considered to be of Ising type, but there have been suggestions in recent years that Bloch-type FDWs are also possible in some cases, e.g., in the rhombohedral phase of BaTiO3. The mechanically compatible and electrically neutral FDWs in rhombohedral BaTiO3 are of 71-degree, 109-degree, and 180-degree type. We have investigated these FDWs based both on first-principles calculations and on a Ginzburg-Landau-Devonshire (GLD) model [P. Marton, I. Rychetsky, and J. Hlinka, Phys. Rev. B 81, 144125 (2010)]. The results from both approaches confirm the Is…
Oxygen octahedra tilting is a common structural phenomenon in perovskites and has been subject of intensive studies, particularly in rhombohedral Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 (PZT). Early reports suggest that the tilted octahedra may strongly affect the domain switching behavior, dielectric and piezoelectric properties of PZT ceramics. In a way similar to that proposed for tilts, however, charged defects, associated with oxygen vacancies, may also inhibit the motion of the domain walls, resulting macroscopically in pinched hysteresis loops and reduced piezoelectric response. Here, we revisit the early studies …
In contrast with rich investigations about the translation of an antiferromagnetic (AFM) texture, spin precession in an AFM texture is seldom concerned for lacking an effective driving method. In this work, however, we show that under an alternating spin-polarized current with spin along the AFM anisotropy axis, spin precession can be excited in an AFM DW. Especially, chaotic spin precession occurs at moderate interfacial Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI), which contributes to a nonlinear term in the dynamic equation of DW precession. Also, crisis-induced intermittent chaos appears when …
Hexagonal La$_2$Ni$_7$ and rhombohedral Y$_2$Ni$_7$ are weak itinerant antiferromagnet (wAFM) and ferromagnet (wFM), respectively. The crystal structure and magnetic properties of $A_2B_7$ intermetallic compounds ($A$ = La, Y, $B$ = Ni) have been investigated combining X-ray powder diffraction and magnetic measurements. The La$_{2-x}$Y$_x$Ni$_7$ intermetallic compounds with $0 \leq x \leq 1$ crystallize in the Ce$_{2}$Ni$_7$-type hexagonal structure with Y preferentially located in the [$AB_2$] units. The compounds with larger Y content ($1.2 \leq x < 2$) crystallize in both hexagonal and rhom…
Single-wall carbon nanotube (SWNT) nanofibrils were assembled onto conductive atomic force microscopy (AFM) probes with the help of dielectrophoresis (DEP). This process involved the application of a 10 V, 2 MHz, AC bias between a metal-coated AFM probe and a dilute suspension of SWNTs. This exerted a positive dielectrophoretic force onto the nanotubes that caused them to align while precipitating out onto the probe. The gradual removal of the AFM probe away from the SWNT suspension consolidated these nanotubes into nanofibrils with a high degree of alignment as demonstrated with polarization …
Mechanically compatible and electrically neutral domain walls in tetragonal, orthorhombic and rhombohedral ferroelectric phases of BaTiO3 are systematically investigated in the framework of the phenomenological Ginzburg-Landau-Devonshire (GLD) model with parameters of Ref. [Hlinka and Marton, Phys. Rev. 74, 104104 (2006)]. Polarization and strain profiles within domain walls are calculated numerically and within an approximation leading to the quasi-one-dimensional analytic solutions applied previously to the ferroelectric walls of the tetragonal phase [W. Cao and L.E. Cross, Phys. Rev. 44, 5 …
In this work, we derive the Landau-Lifshitz-Bloch equation accounting for the multi-domain antiferromagnetic (AFM) lattice at finite temperature, in order to investigate the domain wall (DW) motion, the core issue for AFM spintronics. The continuity equation of the staggered magnetization is obtained using the continuum approximation, allowing an analytical calculation on the domain wall dynamics. The influence of temperature on the static domain wall profile is investigated, and the analytical calculations reproduce well earlier numerical results on temperature gradient driven saturation velo…
We use conducting-tip atomic force microscopy (AFM) to measure local electronic properties of single wall carbon nanotube (SWNT) circuits on insulating substrates. When a voltage is applied to the tip and AFM feedback is used to position the tip, images formed from the tip-sample tunnel current have single tube resolution (near 1 nm diameter), more than an order of magnitude better than simultaneously acquired topographic AFM images. By finding points where the tip-sample current is zero, it is possible to measure the electrochemical potential within the circuit, again with nanometer resolutio…
With the aid of low-energy (500 eV) electron-beam direct writing, patterns of perpendicularly-aligned Single-wall carbon nanotube (SWNT) forests were realized on Nafion modified substrates via Fe3+ assisted self-assembly. Infrared spectroscopy (IR), atomic force microscopy (AFM) profilometry and contact angle measurements indicated that low-energy electron-beam cleaved the hydrophilic side chains (-SO3H and C-O-C) of Nafion to low molecular byproducts that sublimed in the ultra-high vacuum (UHV) environment exposing the hydrophobic Nafion backbone. Auger mapping and AFM microscopy affirmed tha…
Using density functional theory calculations, the ground state structure of BaFeO$_3$ (BFO) is investigated with local spin density approximation (LSDA). Cubic, tetragonal, orthorhombic, and rhombohedral types BFO are considered to calculate the formation enthalpy. The formation enthalpies reveal that cubic is the most stable structure of BFO. Small energy difference between the cubic and tetragonal suggests a possible tetragonal BFO. Ferromagnetic(FM) and anitiferromagnetic (AFM) coupling between the Fe atoms show that all the striochmetric BFO are FM. The energy difference between FM and AFM…
A major challenge in spintronics is to find an efficient means to manipulate antiferromagnet (AFM) states, which are inert relative to a uniform magnetic field, due to the vanishingly-small net magnetization. The question is, how does an AFM response to an inhomogeneous field? Here we address the problem through a complete classification of the magnetic forces on an AFM domain wall (DW), revealing the following physical properties: (i) the tiny net magnetization still responses to the field gradient. (ii) the Néel order is sensitive to the field difference between two sublattices. (iii) DW ene…
We report on observation of ferroelastic domain structure in single crystals of multiferroic CaMn$_7$O$_{12}$ at room temperature. Two types of ferroelastic domain wall are found, consistent with the material's rhombohedral symmetry that is reduced from cubic symmetry at higher temperatures. Using Raman spectroscopy along with other measurements, we develop a systematic method to determine the microscopic domain orientation. Moreover, we find a switching behavior of the domains, which allows us to detwin the crystals conveniently at room temperature using a moderate uniaxial compression. Our r…
The concept of electronic topology and the associated topological protection brings excellent opportunities for developing next-generation devices. Ideally, magnetic topological materials (MTM) should have their Dirac/Weyl points and/or associated mass gaps at the Fermi energy (EF) or be readily tunable such that they can be placed at EF via external perturbations such as electric field gating, chemical substitutions, or doping. Three-dimensional antiferromagnetic (AFM) materials like Mn$Bi_{2}$$X_{4}$ (X=Se, Te) that have strong spin-orbit coupling (SOC) and broken time-reversal symmetry (TRS…
The properties of a ferroelectric, (001)-oriented, thin film clamped to a substrate are investigated analytically and numerically. The emphasis is on the tetragonal, polydomain, ferroelectric phase, using a three domain structure, as is observed experimentally. The previously used, very restrictive set of boundary conditions, arising from the domain walls, is relaxed, creating more modes for energy relaxation. It is argued that this approach gives a more realistic description of the clamped ferroelectric film. It is shown that for the ferroelectric oxides PbZr_(1-x)Ti_xO_3} the tetragonal, pol…
We report the nanoscale electrical imaging results in hexagonal $Lu_{0.6}Sc_{0.4}FeO_3$ single crystals using conductive atomic force microscopy (C-AFM) and scanning microwave impedance microscopy (MIM). While the dc and ac response of the ferroelectric domains can be explained by the surface band bending, the drastic enhancement of domain wall (DW) ac conductivity is clearly dominated by the dielectric loss due to DW vibration rather than mobile-carrier conduction. Our work provides a unified physical picture to describe the local conductivity of ferroelectric domains and domain walls, which …
In the field of antiferromagnetic (AFM) spintronics, information about the Néel vector, AFM domain sizes, and spin-flop fields is a prerequisite for device applications but is not available easily. We have investigated AFM domains and spin-flop induced changes of domain patterns in Mn2Au(001) epitaxial thin films by X-ray magnetic linear dichroism photoemission electron microscopy (XMLD-PEEM) using magnetic fields up to 70 T. As-prepared Mn$_2$Au films exhibit AFM domains with an average size $\sim$ 1 $μ$m. Application of a 30T field, exceeding the spin-flop field, along a magnetocrystalline e…
Exploring new parameter regimes to realize and control novel phases of matter has been a main theme in modern condensed matter physics research. The recent discovery of 2D magnetism in nearly freestanding monolayer atomic crystals has already led to observations of a number of novel magnetic phenomena absent in bulk counterparts. Such intricate interplays between magnetism and crystalline structures provide ample opportunities for exploring quantum phase transitions in this new 2D parameter regime. Here, using magnetic field and temperature dependent circularly polarized Raman spectroscopy of …
BiFeO3 thin films epitaxially grown on SrRuO3-buffered (001)-oriented SrTiO3 substrates show orthogonal bundles of twin domains, each of which contains parallel and periodic 71o domain walls. A smaller amount of 109o domain walls are also present at the boundaries between two adjacent bundles. All as-grown twin walls display enhanced conductivity with respect to the domains during local probe measurements, due to the selective lowering of the Schottky barrier between the film and the AFM tip (see S. Farokhipoor and B. Noheda, Phys. Rev. Lett. 107, 127601 (2011)). In this paper we further discu…
The weak itinerant magnetic properties of $A_2$Ni$_7$ compounds with $A$ = {Y, La} have been investigated using electronic band structure calculations in the relation with their polymorphic crystal structures. These compounds crystallizes in two structures resulting from the stacking of two and three blocks of [$A_2$Ni$_4$ + 2 $A$Ni$_5$] units for hexagonal $2H$-La$_2$Ni$_7$ (Ce$_2$Ni$_7$ type) and rhombohedral $3R$-Y$_2$Ni$_7$ (Gd$_2$Co$_7$ type) respectively. Experimentally, $2H$-La$_2$Ni$_7$ is a weak itinerant antiferromagnet whereas $3R$-Y$_2$Ni$_7$ is a weak itinerant ferromagnet. From t…
We performed Monte Carlo simulations in a bilayer system composed by two thin films, one ferromagnetic (FM) and the other antiferromagnetic (AFM). Two lattice structures for the films were considered: simple cubic (sc) and a body center cubic (bcc). In both lattices structures we imposed an uncompensated interfacial spin structure, in particular we emulated a FeF2-FM system in the case of the (bcc) lattice. Our analysis focused on the incidence of the interfacial strength interactions between the films J_eb and the effect of thermal fluctuations on the bias field H_EB. We first performed Monte…
We report on the frequency and stress dependence of the direct piezoelectric d33 coefficient in BiFeO3 ceramics. The measurements reveal considerable piezoelectric nonlinearity, i.e., dependence of d33 on the amplitude of the dynamic stress. The nonlinear response suggests a large irreversible contribution of non-180° domain walls to the piezoelectric response of the ferrite, which, at present measurement conditions, reached a maximum of 38% of the total measured d33. In agreement with this interpretation, both types of non-180° domain walls, characteristic for the rhombohedral BiFeO3, i.e., 7…
We propose a mechanism to explain the phenomenon of positive exchange bias on magnetic bilayered systems. The mechanism is based on the formation of a domain wall at a disordered interface during field cooling (FC) which induces a symmetry breaking of the antiferromagnet, without relying on any ad hoc assumption about the coupling between the ferromagnetic (FM) and antiferromagnetic (AFM) layers. The domain wall is a result of the disorder at the interface between FM and AFM, which reduces the effective anisotropy in the region. We show that the proposed mechanism explains several known experi…
We develop a theory to compute the domain-wall magnetoresistance (DWMR) in antiferromagnetic (AFM) metals with different spin structures. In the diffusive transport regime, the DWMR can be either {\it negative} or positive depending on the domain-wall orientation and spin structure. In contrast, when the transport is in the ballistic regime, the DWMR is always positive, and the magnitude depends on the width and orientation of the domain wall. Our results pave the way of using electrical measurements for probing the internal spin structure in antiferromagnetic metals.
The influence of rotomagnetic (RM), rotoelectric (RE) and magnetoelectric (ME) coupling on phase diagram and properties of antiferrodistortive (AFD) perovskite oxides was reviewed. The main examples we consider in the review are typical AFD perovkites, such as incipient ferroelectrics EuTiO3, SrTiO3, EuxSr1-xTiO3, multiferroic BiFeO3 and Bi1-xRxFeO3 (x = La, Nd). The strong influence of RM, RE and ME couplings on the physical properties and phase diagrams including antiferromagnetic (AFM), ferroelectric (FE) and structural AFD phases has been revealed in the framework of Landau-Ginzburg-Devons…
The evolution of the atomic structures of the combinatorial library of Sm-substituted thin film BiFeO3 along the phase transition boundary from the ferroelectric rhombohedral phase to the non-ferroelectric orthorhombic phase is explored using scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM). Localized properties including polarization, lattice parameter, and chemical composition are parameterized from atomic-scale imaging and their causal relationships are reconstructed using a linear non-Gaussian acyclic model (LiNGAM). This approach is further extended toward exploring the spatial variabilit…
Single phase barium titanate-bismuth ferrite ((1-x)BaTi$_3$-(x)BiFe$_3$, BTO-BFO) solid solutions were prepared using citric acid and ethylene glycol assisted sol-gel synthesis method. Depending on the dopant content the samples are characterized by tetragonal, tetragonal-pseudocubic, pseudocubic and rhombohedral structure as confirmed by Raman spectroscopy and XRD measurements. An increase of the BFO content leads to a reduction in the cell parameters accompanied by a decrease in polar distortion of the unit cell wherein an average particle size increases from 60 up to 350 nm. Non zero piezor…
There is a general perception that large piezoelectric response in ferroelectric alloys requires tuning the system towards a morphotropic phase boundary (MPB), i.e., a composition driven inter-ferroelectric instability. Here we show that high piezoelectric response can be realized even in non-MPB alloy systems. This is demonstrated on (1-x)PbTiO3-(x)Bi(Zr0.5Ni0.5)O3 (PT-BNZ) by a comprehensive study involving electric-field and temperature dependent XRD, Raman spectroscopy, dielectric, piezoelectric and high field electrostrain measurements. We found that poling-field irreversibly suppresses t…
