The topologically protected vortex–antivortex (V–AV) domain structure in ferroelectric hexagonal manganites has been highly concerned recently, but its stability against intrinsic defects remains to be understood, given the claim that a topological structure would be robust against defects and other perturbations. In fact, it is also known that the V–AV structure is sensitive to the sample quality, and such a well-developed structure is hardly observed in thin films and defective single crystals. In this work, we investigate the influence of anti-trimer point defects on the stability of the V–AV domain structure by employing the phase-field simulation based on the Landau–Devonshire phenomenological theory. It is revealed that the characteristic V–AV structure essentially relies on the anti-trimer point defects under consideration. These defects lower the trimerization transition temperature on one hand and produce pinning effect on the vortex cores/walls on the other hand. However, the V–AV structure does remain robust if the anti-trimer magnitude of these defects is relatively weak but will be eventually destroyed if the anti-trimer magnitude is strong.
Hubnerite MnWO4 is a highly frustrated magnetic compound that has been known for its multiferroic properties. The intrinsic connection of ferroelectric polarization and magnetically frustrated structure allows an opportunity to probe the stability of magnetic structures against perturbations by means of measuring ferroelectric polarization. In this work, we investigate the ferroelectric polarization of Mn1 − 2xIrxWO4 to probe the stability of the low-temperature (T) collinear antiferromagnetic (AF1) phase against the Ir substitution, considering the strong spin-orbital coupling of Ir4+ that would enhance the single-ion anisotropy, on the one hand, and would favor the noncollinear spin alignment, on the other hand. Different from Mn1 − xRux/2WO4, it is suggested that the AF1 phase is only partially suppressed by the Ir substitution, allowing the emergence of the noncollinear antiferromagnetic (AF2) phase in coexistence with the collinear AF1 phase. Proper Ir substitution may promote both the magnetocrystalline anisotropy and the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction, thus making the modulation of the magnetic structure more complicated.
Charge-ordered layered manganites ReA2Mn2O7 (Re = rare-earth species and A = Ca, Sr, Ba, etc.) are believed to offer a number of fascinating electronic and magnetic properties, including the long-time claimed but not yet confirmed ferroelectricity associated with charge-ordering. Experimental observations of the charge-order induced transport and electrically polar behaviors have been insufficient. In this work, we synthesize the La(Ca0.8Sr0.2)2Mn2O7 (LCSMO) single crystal and investigate its structural, magnetic, and dielectric properties. It is revealed that LCSMO undergoes two consecutive charge-ordering transitions upon decreasing temperature T before entering an antiferromagnetic state in the low-T range. The first charge-order transition occurs at temperature TCO1 ∼ 314 K from the high-T paramagnetic state. This charge-order state (CO1 state) is transferred into another charge-order state (CO2 state) by a sequence starting from ∼290 K, and the resultant CO2 state is dynamic and polar-like. The dynamic behaviors of this polar-like CO2 state is confirmed by the remarkable dielectric relaxation associated with this state. The present work provides a connection between the charge-ordering and electrically polar response in LCSMO, while ferroelectricity remains yet to be an issue.
BiFeO3 has been receiving continuous attention for its excellent ferroelectric and multiferroic properties. Nevertheless, the piezoelectricity as a complementary property of ferroelectricity remains less addressed for BiFeO3 at least in a single phase form. In this work, we investigate the piezoelectric behaviors of bulk Bi1−xNdxFeO3 ceramics, given that the Nd-substitution may trigger structural phase transitions from the R3c phase to the Pna21 phase and eventually toward the non-polar Pnma phase. It is revealed that the piezoelectric coefficient d33 does increase with the increasing Nd content x inside the R3c phase region. However, no d33-enhancement across the R3c–Pna21 boundary region and the Pna21–Pnma boundary region is identified, suggesting no positive correlation between the piezoelectric coefficient and the possible morphotropic phase boundaries. The observed d33-enhancement inside the R3c phase region should be attributed to the remarkably reduced domain size and release of pinned domain wall motion by defects.
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