In this work we elaborated and characterized nanocomposite thin films using a preselected multiferroic matrix Bi$_{0.9}$Gd$_{0.1}$Fe$_{0.9}$Mn$_{0.1}$O$_3$ (BGFMO) in the aim to enhance their basic ferroelectric and magnetic properties. The local ferroelectric character of these nanocomposites thin films was investigated by piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM). Switching behavior for ferroelectric domains was probed by locally manipulating domains. The magnetic investigation showed that the incorporation of transition metal elements in the BGFMO matrix brings out interesting increase in the macroscopic magnetisation at room temperature. Moreover, a spin glass type behavior is observed in M(T) curves for the studied thin films.
CoFe${}_{2}$O${}_{4}$ (CFO)-BiFeO${}_{3}$ (BFO) nanocomposites are an intriguing option for future memory and logic technologies due to the magnetoelctric properties of the system. However, these nanocomposites form with CFO pillars randomly located within a BFO matrix, making implementation in devices difficult. To overcome this, we present a technique to produce patterned nanocomposites through self-assembly. CFO islands are patterned on Nb-doped SrTiO${}_{3}$ to direct the self-assembly of epitaxial CFO-BFO nanocomposites, producing square arrays of CFO pillars.
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 …
We report on the fabrication of organic multiferroic tunnel junction (OMFTJ) based on an organic barrier of Poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF):Fe3O4 nanocomposite. By adding Fe3O4 nanoparticles into the PVDF barrier, we found that the ferroelectric properties of the OMFTJ are considerably improved compared to that with pure PVDF barrier. It can lead to a tunneling electroresistance (TER) of about 450% at 10K and 100% at room temperature (RT), which is much higher than that of the pure PVDF based device (70% at 10K and 7% at RT). OMFTJs based on the PVDF:Fe3O4 nanocomposite could open new functio…
Herein, some magnetic nanoparticles (MNP)/clay/polymer nanocomposites have been prepared, whose saturation magnetization is higher than that of pure oleic acid coated MNP component. The existence of unique 'nano-network' structure and tight three-phase nano-interface in the nanocomposites contribute to the surprising saturation magnetization.
Multiferroic materials have driven significant research interest due to their promising technological potential. Developing new room-temperature multiferroics and understanding their fundamental properties are important to reveal unanticipated physical phenomena and potential applications. Here, a new room temperature multiferroic nanocomposite comprised of an ordered ferrimagnetic spinel LiFe5O8 (LFO) and a ferroelectric perovskite BiFeO3 (BFO) is presented. We observed that lithium (Li)-doping in BFO favors the formation of LFO spinel as a secondary phase during the synthesis of LixBi1-xFeO3…
Given the paucity of single phase multiferroic materials (with large ferromagnetic moment), composite systems seem an attractive solution in the quest to realize magnetoelectric cou-pling between ferromagnetic and ferroelectric order parameters. Despite having antiferro-magnetic order, BiFeO3 (BFO) has nevertheless been a key material in this quest due to excel-lent ferroelectric properties at room temperature. We studied a superlattice composed of 8 repetitions of 6 unit cells of La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 (LSMO) grown on 5 unit cells of BFO. Significant net uncompensated magnetization in BFO is demonstr…
We demonstrate how micromagnetic simulations can be employed in order to characterize and analyze the magnetic microstructure of nanocomposites. For the example of nanocrystalline Nd$-$Fe$-$B, which is a potential material for future permanent-magnet applications, we have compared three different models for the micromagnetic analysis of this material class: (i) a description of the nanocomposite microstructure in terms of Stoner-Wohlfarth particles with and without the magnetodipolar interaction; (ii) a model based on the core-shell representation of the nanograins; (iii) the latter model incl…
The magnetization behaviour of the soft Cobalt Ferrite-hard Strontium Ferrite nanocomposite is tuned from the non exchange spring nature to the exchange spring nature, by controlling the particle size of the soft Cobalt Ferrite in the Cobalt Ferrite: Strontium Ferrite (1:8) nanocomposite. The relative strength of the interaction governing the magnetization process in the nanocomposites is investigated using Henkel plot and First Order Reversal Curve (FORC) method. The FORC method has been utilized to understand the magnetization reversal behaviour as well as the extent of the irreversible magn…
We demonstrate that the magnetization of a ferromagnet in contact with an antiferromagnetic multiferroic (LuMnO3) can be speedily reversed by electric field pulsing, and the sign of the magnetic exchange bias can switch and recover isothermally. As LuMnO3 is not ferroelastic, our data conclusively show that this switching is not mediated by strain effects but is a unique electric-field driven decoupling of the ferroelectric and ferromagnetic domains walls. Their distinct dynamics are essential for the observed magnetic switching.
We consider a multiferroic chain with a linear magnetoelectric coupling induced by the electrostatic screening at the ferroelectric/ferromagnet interface. We study theoretically the dynamic ferroelectric and magnetic response to external magnetic and electric fields by utilizing an approach based on coupled Landau- Khalatnikov and finite-temperature Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equations. Additionally, we compare with Monte Carlo calculations. It is demonstrated that for material parameters corresponding to BaTiO3/Fe the polarization and the magnetization are controllable by external magnetic and e…
We study theoretically the multiferroic dynamics in a composite one-dimensional system consisting of BaTiO3 multiferroically coupled to an iron chain. The method treats the magnetization and the polarization as thermodynamic quantities describable via a combination of the Landau-Lifshits- Gilbert and the Ginzburg-Landau dynamics coupled via an additional term in the total free energy density. This term stems from the multiferroic interaction at the interface. For a wide range of strengths of this coupling we predict the possibility of obtaining a well-developed hysteresis in the ferromagnetic …
We design a multiferroic metal that combines seemingly incompatible ferromagnetism, ferroelectricity, and metallicity by hole doping a two-dimensional (2D) ferroelectric with high density of states near the Fermi level. The strong magnetoelectric effect is demonstrated in hole-doped and arsenic-doped monolayer α-In2Se3 using first-principles calculations. Taking advantage of the oppositely charged surfaces created by an out-of-plane polarization, the 2D magnetization and metallicity can be electrically switched on and off in an asymmetrically doped monolayer. The substitutional arsenic defect …
Tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) via oxides or molecules includes fruitful physics, such as spin filtering and hybridized interface states, in addition to various practical applications using large TMR ratio at room temperature. Then, a larger TMR effect with a new fundamental physics is awaited because further progress on spintronics can be realized. Here we report a discovery of a gigantic TMR ratio of 1,400,000% in a C60-Co nanocomposite spin device. The observed effect is induced by a combination of a Coulomb blockade effect and a novel magnetic switching effect. Theoretical investigation…
BiFeO$_3$ is the most famous multiferroic material, but it has no strong spontaneous magnetization due to its antiferromagnetism. Here we show that giant ferroelectric polarization and strong spontaneous magnetization can be both realized in double perovskite Bi$_2$FeMoO$_6$ with R3 (\#146) space group based on BiFeO$_3$. Our first-principles phonon spectra establishes that this multiferroic R3 phase is stable. Our systematic calculations show that it is a spin-polarized semiconductor with gap reaching to 0.54 eV and has a strong ferroelectric polarization of 85$μ$C/cm$^2$. This ferroelctricit…
Rotating the magnetization of a magnetostrictive nanomagnet with electrically generated mechanical strain dissipates miniscule amount of energy compared to any other rotation method and would have been the ideal method to write bits in nonvolatile magnetic memory, except strain cannot ordinarily rotate the magnetization of magnet by more than 90 degrees and "flip" it. Here, we describe a scheme to achieve complete 180 degree rotation of the magnetization of a nanomagnet with strain that will enable writing of binary bits in non-volatile magnetic memory implemented with magneto-tunneling juncti…
A rapidly developing field of spintronics is based on the premise that substituting charge with spin as a carrier of information can lead to new devices with lower power consumption, non-volatility and high operational speed. Despite efficient magnetization detection, magnetization manipulation is primarily performed by current-generated local magnetic fields and is very inefficient. Here we report a novel non-volatile hybrid multiferroic memory cell with electrostatic control of magnetization based on strain-coupled GaMnAs ferromagnetic semiconductor and a piezoelectric material. We use the c…
Self-poled ultra-thin ferroelectric PbZr0.52Ti0.48O3 (PZT) (5 and 7 nm) films have been grown by pulsed laser deposition technique on ferromagnetic La0.67Sr0.33MnO3 (LSMO) (30 nm) to check the effect of polar capping on magnetization for ferroelectric tunnel junction (FTJ) devices. PZT/LSMO heterostructures with thick polar PZT (7 nm) capping show nearly 100% enhancement in magnetization compared with thin polar PZT (5 nm) films, probably due to excess hole transfer from the ferroelectric to the ferromagnetic layers. Core-level X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy studies revealed the presence of …
Inhomogeneous magnetoelectric effect in magnetization distribution heterogeneities (0-degree domain walls) appeared on crystal lattice defect of the multiferroic material has been investigated. Magnetic symmetry based predictions of kind of electrical polarization distribution in their volumes were used. It was found that magnetization distribution heterogeneity with any symmetry produces electrical polarization. Results were systemized in scope of micromagnetic structure chirality. It was shown that all 0-degree domain walls with time-noninvariant chirality have identical type of spatial dist…
In elastically coupled multiferroic heterostructures that exhibit full domain correlations between ferroelectric and ferromagnetic sub-systems, magnetic domain walls are firmly pinned on top of ferroelectric domain boundaries. In this work we investigate the influence of pinned magnetic domain walls on the magnetization reversal process in a Co40Fe40B20 wedge film that is coupled to a ferroelectric BaTiO3 substrate via interface strain transfer. We show that the magnetic field direction can be used to select between two distinct magnetization reversal mechanisms, namely (1) double switching ev…
In this report we present systematic magnetic studies of pure iron oxide nanoparticles and gold iron oxide nanocomposite with increasing Au particle size/content. For the magnetic studies of these samples we have measured: (1) zero field cooled (ZFC) and field cooled (FC) magnetization, (2) ac susceptibility, (3) magnetization vs field at various temperatures, (4) thermoremanant magnetization relaxation (TRM) and zero field cooled magnetization relaxation (ZFCM) at fixed temperature for various wait times tw for studying the aging effect, (5) magnetization memory effect and (6) exchange bias a…
Controlling magnetism by using electric fields is a goal of research towards novel spintronic devices and future nano-electronics. For this reason, multiferroic heterostructures attract much interest. Here we provide experimental evidence, and supporting DFT analysis, of a transition in La0.65Sr0.35MnO3 (LSMO) thin film to a stable ferromagnetic phase, that is induced by the structural and strain properties of the ferroelectric BaTiO3 (BTO) substrate, which can be modified by applying external electric fields. X-ray Magnetic Circular Dichroism (XMCD) measurements on Mn L edges with a synchrotr…
We have studied the influence of laser illumination on the magnetization in multiferroic YbFe2O4 single crystals. A photoinduced magnetization change has been confirmed in both ab plane and c axis direction. The temperature dependence of the photoinduced magnetization reduction excludes laser heating as the cause. In terms of the breakdown of charge order driven by laser illumination, the photoinduced magnetization change provides a strong evidence for the spin-charge coupling in YbFe2O4. This photomagnetic effect based on charge-order-induced multiferroicity could be used for non-thermal opti…
LuFe2O4 exhibits multiferroicity due to charge order on a frustrated triangular lattice. We find that the magnetization of LuFe2O4 in the multiferroic state can be electrically controlled by applying voltage pulses. Depending on with or without magnetic fields, the magnetization can be electrically switched up or down. We have excluded thermal heating effect and attributed this electrical control of magnetization to an intrinsic magnetoelectric coupling in response to the electrical breakdown of charge ordering. Our findings open up a new route toward electrical control of magnetization.
We have investigated the field-induced-changes in both the magnetization and the polarization in ferromagnet/Insulator/ferroelectric (FM/I/FE) multilayer by following both the Stoner-Wohlfarth (SW) model and the Landau theory. It has been found that with the stresses introduced in the FM/I/FE structure by the fields, both the magnetization and the polarization states can be significantly modified and the combination of their states can be of multiple states. These results demonstrate the feasibility of combining both the spintronics and the ferroelectrics into the multiferroictronics.
Morphology, structure and magnetic properties of nanocomposites of magnetite (Fe3O4) nanoparticles and alginic acid (AA) are studied. Magnetite Fe3O4 nanoparticles and the nanoparticles capped with alginic acid exhibit very distinct properties. The chemical bonding between alginic acid and surface of magnetite nanoparticles results in recovery of surface magnetization. On the other hand, it also leads to enhanced surface spin disorder and unconventional behavior of magnetization observed in Fe3O4-AA nanocomposites at low temperatures.
We have synthesized the bulk form of the superparamagnetic nanocomposites of Fe nanoparticles and activated carbon. Here highly porous feature of activated carbon and magnetic properties of Fe nanoparticles were combined together to form the nanocomposites by mechanical mixing of different proportion of both of them. These nanocomposites are characterized by various characterization techniques like X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), magnetization measurement and Mössbauer spectroscopy. The observed XRD patterns have shown most intense peaks at 2θ = 44.8 degree, wh…
We report NdCrTiO5 to be an unusual multiferroic material with large magnetic field dependent electric polarization. While magneto-electric coupling in this two magnetic sub-lattice oxide is well established, the purpose of this study is to look for spontaneous symmetry breaking at the magnetic transition. The conclusions are based on extensive magnetization, dielectric and polarization measurements around its antiferromagnetic ordering temperature of 18K. Room temperature X-ray diffraction pattern of NdCrTiO5 reveals that the sample is single phase with an orthorhombic crystal structure that …
The magneto-transport properties of nanocomposite C:Co (15 and 40 at.% Co) thin films are investigated. The films were grown by ion beam co-sputtering on thermally oxidized silicon substrates in the temperature range from 200 to 500 degC. Two major effects are reported: (i) a large anomalous Hall effect amounting to 2 μohm cm, and (ii) a negative magnetoresistance. Both the field-dependent resistivity and Hall resistivity curves coincide with the rescaled magnetization curves, a finding that is consistent with spin-dependent transport. These findings suggest that C:Co nanocomposites are promis…
We describe the design of a new magnetic ferroelectric with large spontaneous magnetization and polarization using first-principles density functional theory. The usual difficulties associated with the production of robustly-insulating ferromagnets are circumvented by incorporating the magnetism through {\it ferri-}magnetic behavior. We show that the the ordered perovskite \BFCO will have a polarization of $\sim$80 $μ$C/cm$^2$, a piezoelectric coefficient of 283 $μ$C/cm$^{2}$, and a magnetization of $\sim$160 emu/cm$^3$ (2 $μ_B$ per formula unit), far exceeding the properties of any known mult…
We present a new member of the multiferroic oxides, Lu$_2$MnCoO$_6$, which we have investigated using X-ray diffraction, neutron diffraction, specific heat, magnetization, electric polarization, and dielectric constant measurements. This material possesses an electric polarization strongly coupled to a net magnetization below 35 K, despite the antiferromagnetic ordering of the $S = 3/2$ Mn$^{4+}$ and Co$^{2+}$ spins in an $\uparrow \uparrow \downarrow \downarrow$ configuration along the c-direction. We discuss the magnetic order in terms of a condensation of domain boundaries between $\uparrow…
Bulk monolithic samples of γ-Fe2O3/SiO2 composites with different iron oxide/silica ratios have been prepared by the sol-gel technique. Iron oxide nanoparticles are obtained in-situ during heat treatment of samples and silica matrix consolidation. Preparation method was previously optimized to minimize the percentage of antiferromagnetic α-Fe2O3 and parallelepipeds of roughly 2x5x12 mm3, with good mechanical stability, are obtained. RT magnetization curves show a non-hysteretic behavior. Thus, magnetization measurements have been well fitted to an expression that combines the Langevin equation…
We present sharp magnetization jumps and field induced irreversibility in magnetization in multiferroic Y2CoMnO6. Appearance of magnetic relaxation and field sweep rate dependence of magnetization jumps resemble the martensite like scenario and suggests the coexistence of E*-type antiferromagnetic and ferromagnetic phases at low temperatures. In Y2CoMnO6, the critical field required for the sharp jump can be increased or decreased depening on the magnitude and direction of the cooling field; this is remarkably different from manganites or other metamagnetic materials where the critical field i…
Using Landau-Ginzburg-Devonshire theory we study the complex interplay between structural antiferrodistortive order parameter (oxygen octahedron rotations), polarization and magnetization in EuxSr1-xTiO3 nanotubes and nanowires. We calculated EuxSr1-xTiO3 bulk and nanosystem phase diagrams, which include the antiferrodistortive, ferroelectric, ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic phases. Our calculation shows the presence of "triple" antiferrodistortive-ferroelectric-ferromagnetic phases for EuxSr1-xTiO3 nanowires and nanotubes. presents interest for fundamental study and can be important for t…
Thermoplastic elastomeric nanocomposites based on poly(trimethylene terephthalate-block-poly(tetramethylene oxide) copolymer (PTT-PTMO) and graphene oxide-Fe3O4 nanoparticle hybrid were prepared by in situ polymerization. Superparamagnetic GO-Fe3O4 hybrid nanoparticles before introducing to elastomeric matrix were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The effect of loading (0.3 and 0.5 wt%) of GO-Fe3O4 nanoparticle hybrid on the phase structure, tensile and magnetic properties o…
The magnetic interaction between rare-earth and Fe ions in hexagonal rare-earth ferrites (h-REFeO3), may amplify the weak ferromagnetic moment on Fe, making these materials more appealing as multiferroics. To elucidate the interaction strength between the rare-earth and Fe ions as well as the magnetic moment of the rare-earth ions, element specific magnetic characterization is needed. Using X-ray magnetic circular dichroism, we have studied the ferrimagnetism in h-YbFeO3 by measuring the magnetization of Fe and Yb separately. The results directly show anti-alignment of magnetization of Yb and …
We consider theoretically the effect of an inhomogeneous magnetoelectric coupling on the magnon-induced dynamics of a ferromagnet. The magnon-mediated magnetoelectric torque affects both the homogeneous magnetization and magnon-driven domain wall motion. In the domains, we predict a reorientation of the magnetization, controllable by the applied electric field, which is almost an order of magnitude larger than that observed in other physical systems via the same mechanism. The applied electric field can also be used to tune the domain wall speed and direction of motion in a linear fashion, pro…
Using density functional calculations we explore the properties of as-yet-unsynthesized $3d - 5d$ ordered double perovskites ($A_2BB'$O$_6$) with highly polarizable Bi$^{3+}$ ions on the $A$ site. We find that the Bi$_2$NiReO$_6$ and Bi$_2$MnReO$_6$ compounds are insulating and exhibit a robust net magnetization that persists above room temperature. When the in-plane lattice vectors of the pseudocubic unit cell are constrained to be orthogonal (for example, by coherent heteroepitaxy), the ground states are ferroelectric with large polarization and a very large uniaxial magnetocrystalline aniso…
We have made magnetization and x-ray diffraction measurements on an epitaxial Pb(Fe1/2Nb1/2)O3 200 nm film. From the temperature dependence of the out-of-plane lattice parameter we can assign a Burns' temperature at Td ~ 640 K, a temperature at T* ~ 510 K, related to the appearance of static polar nanoregions, and an anomaly occurring at 200 K. The latter is precisely the Néel temperature TN determined from magnetization and points to spin-lattice coupling at TN ~ 200 K. We also observe "weak ferromagnetism" up to 300K and propose superantiferromagnetic clusters as a plausible scenario to expl…
Zero field cooled spontaneous exchange bias (SEB) is observed in epitaxial La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 (LSMO):NiO self-assembled nanocomposite thin films grown on (001) SrTiO3 single crystal substrate by pulsed laser deposition. SEB is displayed by the novel asymmetry in the hysteresis loop of the composite film along with the field cooled conventional exchange bias (CEB) effect. The training effect shows that exchange bias relaxation is disorder mediated. It is revealed from DC magnetization results that such nanocomposite film divulges spin glass like behaviour, which is arising due to competing ferromag…
We report results of a comprehensive study of the phase transition at T_N (~643 K) as a function of particle size in multiferroic BiFeO3 system. We employed electrical, thermal, and temperature dependent X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies in order to characterize the transition in a host of samples. We also carried out detailed magnetic measurements over a temperature regime 2-300 K under a magnetic field 100-10000 Oe both on bulk and nano-crystalline systems. While in the bulk system a sharp endothermic peak at T_N together with a broad feature, ranging over nearly ~150 K (Delta_T), could be obs…
Many technological applications of multiferroics are based on their ability to reconstruct the domain structure (DS) under the action of small external fields. In the present paper we analyze the different scenarios of the DS behavior in a multiferroic that shows simultaneously ferro- and antiferromagnetic ordering on the different systems of magnetic ions. We consider the way to control a composition of the DS and macroscopic properties of the sample by an appropriate field treatment. We found out that sensitivity of the DS to the external magnetic field and the magnetic susceptibility in a l…
The present work reports the preparation of polycrystalline multiferroic $GdFeO_3$ (GdFO) and characterization with x-ray diffraction (XRD), magnetization, temperature dependent Raman spectroscopy, temperature and magnetic field dependent $^{57}Fe$ M$\ddot{o}$ssbauer spectroscopy measurements. The sample is found to be phase pure from Rietveld refinement of XRD pattern. The M$\ddot{o}$ssbauer spectra measured in the presence of external magnetic field show the signatures of field induced spin reorientation transition, which are corroborated by magnetization measurements. From the temperature d…
There have been a large number of papers on bismuth ferrite (BiFeO3) over the past few years, trying to exploit its room-temperature magnetoelectric multiferroic properties. Although these are attractive, BiFeO3 is not the ideal multiferroic, due to weak magnetization and the difficulty in limiting leakage currents. Thus there is an ongoing search for alternatives, including such materials as gallium ferrite (GaFeO3). In the present work we report a comprehensive study of the perovskite PbTi1-xPdxO3 with 0 < x < 0.3. Our study includes dielectric, impedance and magnetization measurements, cond…
The dependencies on strain and oxygen vacancies of the ferroelectric polarization and the weak ferromagnetic magnetization in the multiferroic material bismuth ferrite, BiFeO_3, are investigated using first principles density functional theory calculations. The electric polarization is found to be rather independent of strain, in striking contrast to most conventional perovskite ferroelectrics. It is also not significantly affected by oxygen vacancies, or by the combined presence of strain and oxygen vacancies. The magnetization is also unaffected by strain, however the incorporation of oxygen…
The magnetic and dielectric properties under high magnetic fields are studied in the single crystal of Cu3Mo2O9. This multiferroic compound has distorted tetrahedral spin chains. The effects of the quasi-one dimensionality and the geometrical spin frustration are expected to appear simultaneously. We measure the magnetoelectric current and the differential magnetization under the pulsed magnetic field up to 74 T. We also measure the electric polarization versus the electric field curve/loop under the static field up to 23 T. Dielectric properties change at the magnetic fields where the magneti…
Domains in BaTiO$_3$ induces a regular modulation of uniaxial magnetic anisotropy in CoFeB via an inverse magnetostriction effect. As a result, the domain structures of the CoFeB wedge film and BaTiO$_3$ substrate correlate fully and straight ferroelectric domain boundaries in BaTiO$_3$ pin magnetic domain walls in CoFeB. We use x-ray photoemission electron microscopy and magneto-optical Kerr effect microscopy to characterize the spin structure of the pinned domain walls. In a rotating magnetic field, abrupt and reversible transitions between two domain wall types occur, namely, narrow walls w…
In nanocomposite magnetic materials the exchange coupling between phases plays a central role in the determination of the extrinsic magnetic properties of the material: coercive field, remanence magnetization. Exchange coupling is therefore of crucial importance in composite systems made of magnetically hard and soft grains or in partially crystallized media including nanosized crystallites in a soft matrix. It has been shown also to be a key point in the control of stratified hard / soft media coercive field in the research for optimized recording media. A signature of the exchange coupling d…
In a nanocomposite of reduced graphene oxide (RGO) and BiFeO$_3$ (BFO), the remanent ferroelectric polarization is found to follow nonmonotonic magnetic field dependence at room temperature as the applied magnetic field is swept across 0-20 kOe on a pristine sample. The remanent ferroelectric polarization is determined both from direct electrical measurements on an assembly of nanoparticles and powder neutron diffraction patterns recorded under 0-20 kOe field. The nanosized ($\sim$20 nm) particles of BFO are anchored onto the graphene sheets of RGO via Fe-C bonds with concomitant rise in coval…
We have investigated the effect of temperature on magnetic properties of Bi$_{0.9}$Gd$_{0.1}$Fe$_{1-x}$Ti$_x$O$_3$ (x = 0.00-0.20) multiferroic system. Unexpectedly, the coercive fields ($H_{c}$) of this multiferroic system increased with increasing temperature. The coercive fields and remanent magnetization were higher over a wide range of temperatures in sample x = 0.10 i.e. in sample having composition Bi$_{0.9}$Gd$_{0.1}$Fe$_{0.9}$Ti$_{0.1}$O$_3$ than those of x = 0.00 and 0.20 compositions. Therefore, we have carried out temperature dependent magnetization experiments extensively for samp…
Using a magneto-optical pump-probe technique with micrometer spatial resolution we show that magnetization precession can be launched in individual magnetic domains imprinted in a Co$_{40}$Fe$_{40}$B$_{20}$ (CoFeB) layer by elastic coupling to ferroelectric domains in a BaTiO$_{3}$ substrate. The dependence of the precession parameters on external magnetic field strength and orientation reveal that by laser-induced ultrafast partial quenching of the magnetoelastic coupling parameter of CoFeB by $\approx$27% along with 10% ultrafast demagnetization trigger the magnetization precession. The rela…
Structural, impedance, ferroelectric and magnetic properties were examined in multiferroic Bi_{2}Fe_{4(1-x)}Co_{4x}O_{9} (0$\leq$x$\leq$0.02) ceramics synthesized via solid-state reaction method. X-ray diffraction analysis and Rietveld refinement showed secondary phase formation (for x$\geq$0.01) which was subsequently confirmed from room temperature Raman spectroscopy study. The frequency dependence of impedance and electric modulus of the material showed the presence of non-Debye type relaxation in all the samples. The values of the activation energies calculated from imaginary impedance and…
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…
