We report the structural and physical properties of epitaxial Bi2FeCrO6 thin films on epitaxial SrRuO3 grown on (100)-oriented SrTiO3 substrates by pulsed laser ablation. The 300 nm thick films exhibit both ferroelectricity and magnetism at room temperature with a maximum dielectric polarization of 2.8 microC/cm2 at Emax = 82 kV/cm and a saturated magnetization of 20 emu/cc (corresponding to ~ 0.26 Bohr magneton per rhombohedral unit cell), with coercive fields below 100 Oe. Our results confirm the predictions made using ab-initio calculations about the existence of multiferroic properties in Bi2FeCrO6.
The influence of the deposition pressure PO2 and substrate temperature TS during the growth of Bi2FeCrO6 thin films grown by pulsed laser deposition has been investigated. It is found that the high volatility of Bi makes the deposition very difficult and that the growth of pure Bi2FeCrO6 thin films on SrTiO3 substrates is possible only in a narrow deposition parameter window. We find that the pure Bi2FeCrO6 phase is formed within a narrow window around an oxygen pressure PO2 =1.210-2 mbar and around a substrate temperature TS=680 degC. At lower temperature or higher pressure, Bi7.38Cr0.62O12+x_also called (b*Bi2O3)and Bi2Fe4O9 /Bi2(Fe,Cr)4O9+x phases are detected, while at lower pressure or higher temperature a (Fe,Cr)3O4 phase forms. Some of these secondary phases are not well known and have not been previously studied. We previously reported Fe/Cr cation ordering as the probable origin of the tenfold improvement in magnetization at saturation of our Bi2FeCrO6 film, compared to BiFeO3. Here, we address the effect of the degree of cationic ordering on the magnetic properties of the Bi2FeCrO6 single phase. Polarization measurements at room temperature reveal that our Bi2FeCrO6 films have excellent ferroelectric properties with ferroelectric hysteresis loops exhibiting a remanent polarization as high as 55-60 miroC/cm2 along the pseudocubic (001) direction.
The double perovskite Sr2CrReO6 is an interesting material for spintronics, showing ferrimagnetism up to 635 K with a predicted high spin polarization of about 86%. We fabricated Sr2CrReO6 epitaxial films by pulsed laser deposition on (001)-oriented SrTiO3 substrates. Phase-pure films with optimum crystallographic and magnetic properties were obtained by growing at a substrate temperature of 700 degree C in pure O2 of 6.6x10-4 mbar. The films are c-axis oriented, coherently strained, and show less than 20% anti-site defects. The magnetization curves reveal high saturation magnetization of 0.8 muB per formula unit and high coercivity of 1.1 T, as well as a strong magnetic anisotropy.
CaFe2O4 is a highly anisotropic antiferromagnet reported to display two spin arrangements with up-up-down-down (phase A) and up-down-up-down (phase B) configurations. The relative stability of these phases is ruled by the competing ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic interactions between Fe3+ spins arranged in two different environments, but a complete understanding of the magnetic structure of this material does not exist yet. In this study we investigate epitaxial CaFe2O4 thin films grown on TiO2 (110) substrates by means of Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD). Structural characterization reveals the coexistence of two out-of-plane crystal orientations and the formation of three in-plane oriented domains. The magnetic properties of the films, investigated macroscopically as well as locally, including highly sensitive Mossbauer spectroscopy, reveal the presence of just one order parameter showing long-range ordering below T = 185 K and the critical nature of the transition. In addition, a non-zero in-plane magnetization is found, consistent with the presence of uncompensated spins at phase or domain boundaries, as proposed for bulk samples.
We report the growth of thin films of the mixed valence compound YbAl$_{3}$ on MgO using molecular-beam epitaxy. Employing an aluminum buffer layer, epitaxial (001) films can be grown with sub-nm surface roughness. Using x-ray diffraction, in situ low-energy electron diffraction and aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy we establish that the films are ordered in the bulk as well as at the surface. Our films show a coherence temperature of 37 K, comparable to that reported for bulk single crystals. Photoelectron spectroscopy reveals contributions from both $textit{f}^{13}$ and $textit{f}^{12}$ final states establishing that YbAl$_{3}$ is a mixed valence compound and shows the presence of a Kondo Resonance peak near the Fermi-level.
Two-dimensional (2D) multiferroics exhibit cross-control capacity between magnetic and electric responses in reduced spatial domain, making them well suited for next-generation nanoscale devices; however, progress has been slow in developing materials with required characteristic properties. Here we identify by first-principles calculations robust 2D multiferroic behaviors in decorated Fe2O3 monolayer, showcasing N@Fe2O3 as a prototypical case, where ferroelectricity and ferromagnetism stem from the same origin, namely Fe d-orbit splitting induced by the Jahn-Teller distortion and associated crystal field changes. The resulting ferromagnetic and ferroelectric polarization can be effectively reversed and regulated by applied electric field or strain, offering efficient functionality. These findings establish strong materials phenomena and elucidate underlying physics mechanism in a family of truly 2D multiferroics that are highly promising for advanced device applications.
Riad Nechache
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(2006)
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"Growth, Structure and Properties of Epitaxial Thin Films of First Principles Predicted Multiferroic Bi2FeCrO6"
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Alain Pignolet
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