Quadratic magnetoelectric effect and the role of the magnetocaloric effect in the magnetoelectric properties of multiferroic BaMnF<Subscript>4</Subscript>

The magnetoelectric effects in BaMnF₄ in magnetic fields up to 250 kOe are experimentally studied and theoretically analyzed using the magnetic symmetry of the crystal. The presence of quadratic magnetoelectric effect tensor components that correspond to the electric polarization components along the b and c axes indicates triclinic distortions in the monoclinic symmetry of the crystal. The anomalous dependence of the magnetic field-induced polarization (P _a (H _b )) can be related to the pyroelectric effect caused by magnetocaloric heating of the crystal. The measured torque curves point to a 9° deviation of the spin orientation from the b axis.     

Magnetoelectric interaction and magnetic field control of electric polarization in multiferroics

Various aspects of magnetic field control of magnetoelectric (ME) and electric properties of multiferroics are considered: linear ME effect appearance at magnetic field-induced incommensurate–commensurate phase transition, polarization switching and reversal by magnetic field and magnetic field-induced polarization flop transition. The correlation between magnetic, electric, and magnetoelastic properties is shown.     

Magnetoelectric coupling in antiferroelectric and magnetic laminate composites

We researched the properties of magnetoelectric composites between antiferroelectric Pb_0.94La_0.04(Zr_0.55Sn_0.3Ti_0.15)O₃ and magnetic Terfenol-D. The magnetic field enhances the electric field-induced strain and polarization of the composite. The magnetic moment induced by the electric field increases at the electromechanical resonance frequency because the antiferroelectric ceramics exhibit ferroelectric behaviors under a high electric field. The induced magnetic moment increases with decreasing thickness ratio and shows a hysteresis loop with the bias magnetic field. Due to the antiferroelectric characteristics, it also shows a hysteresis loop with the bias electric field, which could be used in the magnetic switch controlled by electricity.     

Magnetoelectric effect in perovskite quantum paraelectric EuTiO3

On the basis of successful theoretical explanation of the observed large magnetic-field effect (by ∼7% with 1.5 T) on the dielectric constant below the Néel temperature T_N of 5.5 K, we have demonstrated convincingly the magnetoelectric effect in an antiferromagnetic quantum paraelectric EuTiO₃ system. The mutual control of electric and magnetic properties is revealed by the variation of the electric-field-induced polarization with applied magnetic fields as well as the change of the magnetic-field-induced spin moments under the control of electric fields. It is found that the applied electric field (magnetic field) acts like a fictitious magnetic field (electric field) on the EuTiO₃ system. The magnetoelectric susceptibility is deduced to be proportional to the product of the magnetization, electrical polarization, magnetic susceptibility and dielectric susceptibility.     

Electric polarization memory effect in a magnetoelectric multiferroic CuFe1−xGaxO2

Magnetic oxide CuFeO₂ is a magnetoelectric multiferroic with new type of spin–polarization coupling different from that in the spin-current mechanism, where magnetic field-induced or nonmagnetic impurity-induced proper helical magnetic ordering generates a spontaneous electric polarization parallel to the helical axis. Using a CuFe_1−xGa_xO₂ sample with x=0.035, in which the single ferroelectric phase is realized below T_N8 K in zero magnetic field unlike CuFe_1−xAl_xO₂, we have performed pyroelectric current, thermally stimulated current (TSC) and polarized neutron diffraction measurements to study a memory effect that the electric polarization is partially preserved even for 2nd-cooling from above T_N without poling electric field. It was found that the charge trapped during 1st-cooling with poling electric field, which is released as TSC on heating, plays an important role in the memory effect.     

High-frequency properties of KNiPO<Subscript>4</Subscript> in alternating magnetic and electric fields

The dependences of the antiferromagnetic resonance frequencies on the constant magnetic field H and constant electric field E are calculated for a KNiPO₄ crystal with spontaneous electric polarization and antiferromagnetic order. It is demonstrated that the KNiPO₄ crystal is characterized by an exchange-enhanced effect of the electric field E on the antiferromagnetic resonance frequencies. This effect is not revealed in the magnetoelectric materials studied earlier. It is established that oscillations of both magnetization and electric polarization exhibit resonance response at antiferromagnetic resonance frequencies. The expressions for these responses in alternating magnetic and electric fields are presented.     

Specificity of magnetoelectric effects in a new GdMnO<Subscript>3</Subscript> magnetic ferroelectric

A complex study of the magnetic, electric, magnetoelectric, and magnetoelastic properties of GdMnO₃ single crystals has been performed in the low-temperature region in strong pulsed magnetic fields up to 200 kOe. An anomaly of the dielectric constant along the a axis of a crystal has been found at 20 K, where a transition from an incommensurate modulated phase to a canted antiferromagnetic phase, as well as electric polarization along the a and b axes of the crystal induced by the magnetic field H‖ b (H_cr ～ 40 kOe), is observed. Upon cooling the crystal in an electric field, the magnetic-field-induced electric polarization changes its sign depending on the sign of the electric field. The occurrence of the electric polarization is accompanied by anisotropic magnetostriction, which points to a correlation between the magnetoelectric and magnetoelastic properties. Based on these results, it has been stated that GdMnO₃ belongs to a new family of magnetoelectric materials with the perovskite structure.     

Nature of unusual spontaneous and field-induced phase transitions in multiferroics RMn2O5

Complex magnetic, magnetoelectric and magnetoelastic studies of spontaneous and field-induced phase transitions in TmMn₂O₅ were carried out. In the vicinity of spontaneous phase transition temperatures (35 and 25 K) the magnetoelectric and magnetoelastic dependences demonstrated the jumps of polarization and magnetostriction induced by the field ∼150 kOe. These anomalies can be attributed to the influence of magnetic field on the conditions of incommensurate-commensurate phase transition at 35 K and the reverse one at 25 K. In b-axis dependences the magnetic field-induced spin-reorientation phase transition was also observed below 20 K. Finally the magnetoelectric anomaly associated with metamagnetic transition is observed below the temperature of rare-earth subsystem ordering at relatively small critical fields of 5 kOe. This variety of spontaneous and induced phase transitions in RMn₂O₅ stems from the interplay of three magnetic subsystems: Mn³⁺, Mn⁴⁺, R³⁺. The comparison with YMn₂O₅ highlights the role of rare earth in low-temperature region (metamagnetic and spin-reorientation phase transitions), while the phase transition at higher temperatures between incommensurate and commensurate phases should be ascribed to the different temperature dependences of Mn³⁺ and Mn⁴⁺ ions. The strong correlation of magnetoelastic and magnetoelectric properties observed in the whole class of RMn₂O₅ highlights their multiferroic nature.     

Spin chirality and electric polarization in multiferroic compounds (, Er)

Polarized neutron diffraction experiments have been performed on multiferroic materials RMn₂O₅ (R=Ho, Er) under electric fields in the ferroelectric commensurate (CM) and the low-temperature incommensurate (LT-ICM) phases, where the former has the highest electric polarization and the latter has reduced polarization. It is found that, after cooling in electric fields down to the CM phase, the magnetic chirality is proportional to the electric polarization. Also we confirmed that the magnetic chirality can be switched by the polarity of the electric polarization in both the CM and LT-ICM phases. These facts suggest an intimate coupling between the magnetic chirality and the electric polarization. However, upon the transition from the CM to LT-ICM phase, the reduction of the electric polarization is not accompanied by any reduction of the magnetic chirality, implying that the CM and LT-ICM phases contain different mechanisms of the magnetoelectric coupling.     

First-principle investigation on multiferroicity and interfacial coupling of nonstoichiometric tetragonal La2/3Sr1/3MnO3/BiCoO3 interface

The energetically stable tetragonal nonstoichiometric La_2/3Sr_1/3MnO₃/BiCoO₃ (LSMO/BCO) interface, whose chemical formula is (BiO)₃(CoO₂)₄/(LaO)₃(SrO)₁(MnO₂)₃, was investigated by using first-principle calculations. A magnetoelectric coupling effect, i.e., an electric control of the magnetism, was approved by a maximum variation of 17.9% in magnetic moments tuned by the electric polarization reversal. The interfacial coupling was controlled by the polar shifts of the interfacial Co and/or O atoms. A huge variation in spin-polarization from 6.3% to 72.7% was achieved upon switching the electric polarization. These findings are useful for magnetoelectric coupled spintronic device applications.     

Magnetoelectric and magnetoelastic interactions in NdFe3(BO3)4 multiferroics

Complex experimental and theoretical investigations of the magnetic, magnetoelectric, and magnetoelastic properties of neodymium iron borate NdFe₃(BO₃)₄ along various crystallographic directions have been carried out in strong pulsed magnetic fields up to 230 kOe in a temperature range of 4.2–50 K. It has been found that neodymium iron borate, as well as gadolinium iron borate, is a multiferroic. It has a much larger (above 300 μC/m²) electric polarization controlled by the magnetic field and giant quadratic magnetoelectric effect. The exchange field between the rare-earth and iron subsystems (～50 kOe) has been determined for the first time from experimental data. The theoretical analysis based on the magnetic symmetry and quantum properties of the Nd ion in the crystal provides an explanation of the unusual behavior of the magnetoelectric and magnetoelastic properties of neodymium iron borate in strong magnetic fields and correlation observed between them.     

铁电/铁磁1-3型结构复合材料磁电性能分析

磁致伸缩和压电复合材料通过机械力作用可获得较大的磁电效应，由Terfenol-D粉末与树脂黏接剂构成压磁相，和压电陶瓷PZT黏结在一起，形成1-3型柱状阵列结构，可获得很大的磁电转换系数.采用有限元方法，对此结构的复合材料进行静态分析.复合材料的介电常数和磁电系数的计算结果和实验数值一致，得到样品中应力、应变和电极化分布情况及其关系，并给出进一步提高磁电转换系数的途径，该种复合方式有望成为一种新型高性能的磁电结构. 关键词： 复合材料 磁电效应 有限元     

Ferroelectric control of the magnetocrystalline anisotropy of the Fe/BaTiO(3)(001) interface

Density-functional calculations are employed to investigate the effect of ferroelectric polarization of BaTiO(3) on the magnetocrystalline anisotropy of the Fe /BaTiO(3)(001) interface. It is found that the interface magnetocrystalline anisotropy energy changes from 1.33 to 1.02 erg cm (-2) when the ferroelectric polarization is reversed. This strong magnetoelectric coupling is explained in terms of the changing population of the Fe 3d orbitals at the Fe/BaTiO(3) interface driven by polarization reversal. Our results indicate that the electronically assisted magnetoelectric effects at the ferromagnetic/ferroelectric interfaces may be a viable alternative to the strain mediated coupling in related heterostructures and the electric field-induced effects on the interface magnetic anisotropy in ferromagnet/dielectric structures.     

Multiferroic properties and structural features of <Emphasis Type="Italic">M</Emphasis>-type Al-substituted barium hexaferrites

Precise studies of the crystal and magnetic structures of M-type substituted barium hexaferrites BaFe_12–x Al _x O₁₉ (0.1 ≤ x ≤ 1.2) have been performed by powder neutron diffraction in the temperature range 300–730 K. The electric polarization and the magnetization, and also the magnetoelectric effect of the compositions under study have been studied in electric (to 110 kV/m) and magnetic (to 14 T) fields at room temperature. The spontaneous polarization and significant correlation between the dielectric and magnetic subsystems have been observed at room temperature. The magnetoelectric effect value is, on average, about 5%, and it increases slightly with the aluminum cation concentration. The precise structural studies made it possible to reveal the cause and the mechanism of formation of the spontaneous polarization in M-type substituted barium hexaferrites BaFe_12–x Al _x O₁₉ (x ≤ 1.2) with a collinear ferromagnetic structure.     

单相ABO3型多铁材料的磁电耦合及磁电性质研究

实验发现多铁性钙钛矿物质YMnO₃和BiMnO₃在接近磁有序相变温度时,其介电常数和正切损失会出现异常,这些现象说明在物质的磁性和介电性质之间存在耦合.通过对系统磁性和铁电性之间可能磁电耦合方式的分析,考虑在系统哈密顿量中加入与自旋关联和极化相关的耦合项,对铁电子系统应用软模理论,对磁性运用基于海森伯模型的量子平均场近似,研究了外磁场诱导的极化、介电的变化和外电场诱导的磁化的变化等,并将以上结果与实验进行了比较和分析,较为合理地解释了一些多铁钙钛矿物质中的磁电现 关键词： 多铁 磁电耦合 铁电 铁磁     

1-3型纳米多铁复合薄膜中电场诱导的磁化研究

运用Landau-Devonshire热力学唯像理论,考虑铁电相和铁磁相的电致伸缩、磁致伸缩效应以及产生于铁电/铁磁和薄膜/基底界面的弹性应力作用,两次重整介电和磁作用系数得到了这种多铁系统在Landau自由能函数下的本征二次方磁电耦合形式,从而研究了外延1-3型纳米多铁复合薄膜中极化、磁化随薄膜厚度、温度的变化以及该薄膜中外加电场诱导的磁化变化.结果表明薄膜平面内的应压力的弛豫使得磁化强度和极化强度随薄膜厚度的增加而减少,外加电场不仅能诱导铁电相极化场翻转,而且由于铁电和铁磁相界面竖直方向的弹性耦合导致 关键词： 多铁 磁电效应 磁致伸缩 薄膜     

Mn3TeO6 – a new multiferroic material with two magnetic substructures

From magnetic susceptibility, dielectric permittivity, electric polarization and specific heat measurements we discover spin‐induced ferroelectricity and magnetoelectric coupling in Mn₃TeO₆ and observe two successive magnetic transitions at low temperatures. A non‐ferroelectric intermediate magnetic state occurs below 23 K and a multiferroic ground state emerges below 21 K. Moreover, Mn₃TeO₆ is a candidate for a multiferroic material where two types of incommensurate spin structures, cycloidal and helical, coexist. Theoretically, both spin substructures may contribute to the macro electric polarization via different mechanisms. This could open new ways of manipulating the ferroelectric polarization in a multiferroic material. (© 2015 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH &Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Magnetoelectric and magnetoelastic properties of easy-plane ferroborates with a small ionic radius

The magnetic, magnetoelectric, and magnetoelastic properties of RFe₃(BO₃)₄ ferroborates are studied. The measurement of the field dependences of the magnetoelectric polarization along the a axis in holmium ferroborate and in the mixed composition Ho_0.5Sm_0.5Fe₃(BO₃)₄ revealed the following dependences for easy-plane ferroborates: (a) the longitudinal and transverse magnetoelectric effects have the opposite signs and (b) magnetically induced polarization changes its sign in a field close to the field of exchange between rare-earth and iron ions. These dependences agree well with theoretical predictions based on the symmetry of the compounds. The relatively low f-d exchange field in holmium ferroborate (about 20 kOe), which magnetizes the rare-earth subsystem, causes smaller polarization jumps (about 30 ??C/m²) in fields lower than 10 kOe as compared to the jumps in other easy-plane ferroborates (R = Sm, Nd). The increase in the electric polarization induced in HoFe₃(BO₃)₄ in magnetic fields higher than 100 kOe (200?C300 ??C/m²) is found to be significantly smaller than in neodymium ferroborate, which indicates a substantial dependence of the magnetoelectric effects on the electronic structure of a rare-earth ion.     

Magnetoelectric effect and magnetostriction in the paramagnetic piezoelectric NiSO4 · 6H2O

The direct magnetoelectric effect, the magnetostriction, and the magnetic moment in piezoelectric paramagnetic NiSO₄ · 6H₂O single crystals is comprehensively studied over a wide temperature range in magnetic fields up to 14 T for several magnetic field directions with respect to crystallographic axes. At temperatures above 20 K, the magnetoelectric effect is rigorously quadratic in magnetic field over the entire magnetic field range. As the temperature decreases, the region of quadratic behavior shifts toward low fields. To explain the magnetoelectric effect, the contribution of the magnetostriction-induced piezoelectric effect is considered. It is shown that the piezoelectric effect may be neglected at the helium temperature, where the magnetoelectric effect is high, since its value does not exceed 1%. However, the relative contribution of the piezoelectric effect increases to 10% at T = 40 K, where the magnetoelectric polarization decreases strongly. In contrast to the earlier assumption that the magnetoelectric effect is rapidly and fully saturated in fields higher than 3 T, complete saturation is actually not detected even at 14 T.     

NMR excitation by an electric field as a dynamic manifestation of magnetoelectric and antiferroelectric interactions

The possibility of excitation of NMR signals by an ac electric field in magnetically ordered crystals is discussed. Such signals can be recorded using the time-dependent component of the electric polarization vector. It is assumed that the electric and magnetic characteristics are coupled to each other through magnetoelectric and antiferroelectric interactions. Several types of magnetic structures are analyzed in which these interactions are not forbidden by symmetry. Such structures include two-sublattice single-position ferro-and antiferromagnetic phases in centrosymmetrical crystals, two-sublattice magnetic crystals without a center of symmetry (such as KNiPO₄), and four-sublattice antiferromagnetic crystals with three types of antiferromagnetism vectors (such as Cr₂O₃ and α-Fe₂O₃).