Ferromagnetism and spin polarized charge carriers in In$_{2}$O$_{3}$ thin films

We present evidence for spin polarized charge carriers in In$_2$O$_3$ films. Both In$_2$O$_3$ and Cr doped In$_2$O$_3$ films exhibit room temperature ferromagnetism after vacuum annealing, with a saturation moment of approximately 0.5 emu/cm$^3$. We used Point Contact Andreev Reflection measurements to directly determine the spin polarization, which was found to be approximately 50$pm$5% for both compositions. These results are consistent with suggestions that the ferromagnetism observed in certain oxide semiconductors may be carrier mediated.

Electric field control of magnetic phase transitions in Ni3V2O8

We report on the electric field control of magnetic phase transition temperatures in multiferroic Ni3V2O8 thin films. Using magnetization measurements, we find that the phase transition temperature to the canted antiferromagnetic state is suppressed by 0.2 K in an electric field of 30 MV/m, as compared to the unbiased sample. Dielectric measurements show that the transition temperature into the magnetic state associated with ferroelectric order increases by 0.2 K when the sample is biased at 25 MV/m. This electric field control of the magnetic transitions can be qualitatively understood using a mean field model incorporating a tri-linear coupling between the magnetic order parameters and spontaneous polarization.