Controlling magnetoelectric coupling by nanoscale phase transformation in strain engineered bismuth ferrite

Abstract

The magnetoelectric coupling in multiferroic materials is promising for a wide range of applications, yet manipulating magnetic ordering by electric field proves elusive to obtain and difficult to control. In this paper, we explore the prospect of controlling magnetic ordering in misfit strained bismuth ferrite (BiFeO(3), BFO) films, combining theoretical analysis, numerical simulations, and experimental characterizations. Electric field induced transformation from a tetragonal phase to a distorted rhombohedral one in strain engineered BFO films has been identified by thermodynamic analysis, and realized by scanning probe microscopy (SPM) experiment. By breaking the rotational symmetry of a tip-induced electric field as suggested by phase field simulation, the morphology of distorted rhombohedral variants has been delicately controlled and regulated. Such capabilities enable nanoscale control of magnetoelectric coupling in strain engineered BFO films that is difficult to achieve otherwise, as demonstrated by phase field simulations.

Characteristics of giant piezoelectricity around the rhombohedral-tetragonal phase boundary in (K,Na)NbO3-based ceramics with different additives

“…10. Similar phenomena could be also observed in other materials {e.g., Bi 0.5 Na 0.5 TiO 3 [45] and BiFeO 3 [32,[49][50].…”

Tip-induced domain structures and polarization switching in ferroelectric amino acid glycine

“…26 The stability of the written domain structures is important for the application of ferroelectrics for memories and other applications. 33 In glycine, the domains are stable for a short time only and then their length slowly decreases to reach stable configuration or sometimes they fully disappear similar to the case of single-domain strontium-barium niobate (SBN) crystals. 34 However, the time taken for the nucleated domain to switch back after removal of the field is much slower than the intrinsic switching time.…”

Unraveling the origins of electromechanical response in mixed-phase bismuth ferrite

“…To examine whether the enhanced electromechanical response is due to bulk intrinsic mechanisms such as electrostriction and polarization rotation, thermodynamic calculations were performed following formalism developed elsewhere, 35 as detailed in the Supplemental Material. 32 For bulk rhombohedral BFO, such calculations resulted in a spontaneous polarization of 100 μC/cm 2 , a d 33 of 21 pm/V, and a dielectric constant of 97, in good agreement with both density functional theory calculations and recent experimental measurements 32 (see also Refs.…”