<Superscript>57</Superscript>Fe NMR study of multiferroic BiFeO<Subscript>3</Subscript>

The effects of the ⁵⁷Fe isotope content and high-frequency magnetic field amplitude h ₁ on the shape of the NMR spectrum of multiferroic BiFeO₃ at T = 4.2 K are studied by pulsed nuclear magnetic resonance. The NMR spectrum shape and transverse relaxation time T ₂ are found to depend strongly on the ⁵⁷Fe isotope content and h ₁ in multiferroic BiFeO₃ in the presence of a spatial spin-modulated structure of a cycloid type. In a sample with a high ⁵⁷Fe isotope content, the Suhl-Nakamura interaction contributes substantially to T ₂. When these dynamic effects are taken into account for analysis of the NMR spectrum shape, an undisturbed (without an anharmonicity effect) spatial spin-modulated structure of a cycloid type is shown to exist in BiFeO₃.     

Effect of KNbO<Subscript>3</Subscript> modification on structural,electrical and magnetic properties of BiFeO<Subscript>3</Subscript>

The polycrystalline samples of (Bi_1?x K _x ) (Fe_1?x Nb _x ) O₃ (BKFN) for x = 0.0, 0.1, 0.2 and 0.3 were synthesized by a solid-state reaction method. The X-ray diffraction patterns of BKFN exhibit that the addition of KNbO₃ in BiFeO₃ gradually changes its structure from rhombohedral to pseudocubic. The analysis of scanning electron micrograph clearly showed that the sintered samples have well-defined and uniformly distributed grains. Addition of KNbO₃ to BiFeO₃ enhances the dielectric, ferroelectric and ferromagnetic properties of BiFeO₃. Detailed studies of impedance and related parameters of BKFN using the complex impedance spectroscopic technique exhibit the significant contributions of grain and grain boundaries in the resistive and transport properties of the materials. Some oxygen vacancies created in the ceramic samples during high-temperature processing play an important role in the conduction mechanism. The leakage current or tangent loss of BiFeO₃ is greatly reduced on addition of KNbO₃ to the parent compound BiFeO₃. Preliminary studies of ferroelectric and magnetic characteristics of the samples reveal the existence of ferroelectric, and weak ferromagnetic ordered ceramics.     

Rapid optical measurement of surface roughness of BiFeO<Subscript>3</Subscript> films for nonvolatile memory application

An optical inspection system for rapid surface roughness measurement of BiFeO₃ (BFO) thin films is developed. It is found that y = −121.45 x + 212.81 is a trend equation for characterizing the surface roughness of BFO thin films. The incident angle of 60◦ is a good candidate for measuring the surface roughness of BFO thin films. The maximum measurement error rate of the optical inspection system developed is less than 2.6%. The savings in inspection time of the surface roughness of BiFeO₃ thin films is up to 90%.     

Specific features of structural states in the BiFeO<Subscript>3</Subscript>-YMnO<Subscript>3</Subscript> solid solutions

The (1 − x)BiFeO_3−x YMnO₃ solid solutions have been found to undergo the following sequence of phase transformations with increasing x: R3c → Pbnm → C2 → Pnma → P6₃ cm. It has been established that the Pbnm and Pnma phases have different orientations of atomic displacements and can exhibit antiferroelectric properties.     

On synthesis of BaFe<Subscript>12</Subscript>O<Subscript>19</Subscript>, SrFe<Subscript>12</Subscript>O<Subscript>19</Subscript>, and PbFe<Subscript>12</Subscript>O<Subscript>19</Subscript> hexagonal ferrite ceramics with multiferroid properties

We analyze the possibility of obtaining M-type hexagonal ferrites of barium, strontium, and lead with multiferroid properties with the help of ceramic technology. Using the modified ceramic technology (especially pure initial raw materials, admixture of B₂O₃, and sintering in the oxygen atmosphere), we obtained for the first time the BaFe₁₂O₁₉ and SrFe₁₂O₁₉ samples with intense multiferroid properties at room temperature. At the same time, the employed technology does not make it possible to obtain PbFe₁₂O₁₉ samples exhibiting ferroelectricity. The multiferroid characteristics of experimental samples are compared with the characteristics of classical high-temperature multiferroic BiFeO₃ and with the characteristics of BaFe₁₂O₁₉, SrFe₁₂O₁₉, and PbFe₁₂O₁₉ ferrite ceramics obtained in accordance with polymer precursor technology. We propose a mechanism explaining multiferroid properties of the hexagonal ferrite ceramic samples and note the importance of our results for applications.     

Structural,magnetic, and electrical properties of Gd-doped BiFeO<Subscript>3</Subscript> nanoparticles with reduced particle size

Pure and Gd-doped BiFeO₃ nanoparticles have been synthesized by sol–gel method. The significant effects of size and Gd-doping on structural, electrical, and magnetic properties have been investigated. X-ray diffraction study reveals that the pure BiFeO₃ nanoparticles possess rhombohedral structure, but with 10% Gd-doping complete structural transformation from rhombohedral to orthorhombic has been observed. The particle size of pure and Gd-doped BiFeO₃ nanoparticles, calculated using Transmission electron microscopy, has been found to be in the range 25–15 nm. Pure and Gd-doped BiFeO₃ nanoparticles show ferromagnetic character, and the magnetization increases with decrease in particle size and increase in doping concentration. Scanning electron microscopy study reveals that grain size decreases with increase in Gd concentration. Well-saturated polarization versus electric field loop is observed for the doped samples. Leakage current density decreases by four orders by doping Gd in BiFeO₃. The incorporation of Gd in BiFeO₃ enhances spin as well as electric polarization at room temperature. The possible origin of enhancement in these properties has been explained on the basis of dopant and its concentration, phase purity, small particle, and grain size.     

Dielectric relaxation in magnetoelectric composite 0.85BiFeO<Subscript>3</Subscript>–0.15MgFe<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>4</Subscript>

Dielectric properties of 0.85BiFeO₃–0.15MgFe₂O₄ composite fabricated with conventional ceramic technology are studied in the temperature interval of 20–250°C at frequencies of 25 Hz to 1 MHz. Dielectric relaxation is observed, the nature of which is discussed in the context of a mechanism of interaction between ferroelectric domain boundaries and point defects.     

Lattice dynamics of BiFeO<Subscript>3</Subscript>: The untypical behavior of the ferroelectric instability under hydrostatic pressure

Within a nonempirical model of an ionic crystal with the inclusion of the dipole and quadrupole ion polarizations, the lattice vibrational frequencies, high-frequency dielectric constant, Born dynamic charges, and the elasticity moduli of the BiFeO₃ crystal have been calculated and their dependencies on the hydrostatic pressure in the cubic, rhombic, and rhombohedral phases have been determined. The results indicate the presence of the ferroelectric instability, which depends weakly on the pressure in all of the phases investigated. The dependence of the crystal lattice dynamics on the applied pressure for the cubic phases of BiAlO₃, BaTiO₃, and PbTiO₃ has been calculated for comparison.     

Toroidal moments as indicator for magneto-electric coupling: the case of BiFeO<Subscript>3</Subscript> versus FeTiO<Subscript>3</Subscript>

In this paper we present an analysis of the magnetic toroidal moment and its relation to the various structural modes in R3c-distorted perovskites with magnetic cations on either the perovskite A or B site. We evaluate the toroidal moment in the limit of localized magnetic moments and show that the full magnetic symmetry can be taken into account by considering small induced magnetic moments on the oxygen sites. Our results give a transparent picture of the possible coupling between magnetization, electric polarization, and toroidal moment, thereby highlighting the different roles played by the various structural distortions in multiferroic BiFeO₃ and in the recently discussed isostructural material FeTiO₃, which has been predicted to exhibit electric field-induced magnetization switching.     

Evolution of the antiferromagnetism vector of a multiferroic BiFeO<Subscript>3</Subscript> during switching its ferroelectric polarization

The evolution of the antiferromagnetism vector of multiferroic BiFeO₃ during switching of its ferroelectric polarization by an electric field has been studied by numerical simulation in the framework of the phenomenological model for the magnetic anisotropy energy. Optimal variants have been found for the cut of electrosensitive BiFeO₃ layer, the deformation induced by a substrate, and the direction of applying electric field for the development of prototypes of new-generation marnetoresistive memory.     

Modulation of ultrafast laser-induced magnetization precession in BiFeO<Subscript>3</Subscript>-coated La<Subscript>0.67</Subscript>Sr<Subscript>0.33</Subscript>MnO<Subscript>3</Subscript> thin films

The ultrafast laser-excited magnetization dynamics of ferromagnetic (FM) La_0.67Sr_0.33MnO₃ (LSMO) thin films with BiFeO₃ (BFO) coating layers grown by laser molecular beam epitaxy are investigated using the optical pump-probe technique. Uniform magnetization precessions are observed in the films under an applied external magnetic field by measuring the time-resolved magneto-optical Kerr effect. The magnetization precession frequencies of the LSMO thin films with the BFO coating layers are lower than those of uncoated LSMO films, which is attributed to the suppression of the anisotropy field induced by the exchange interaction at the interface between the antiferromagnetic order of BFO and the FM order of LSMO.     

Energy levels of rare-earth ions in Gd<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>2</Subscript>S

The energies of the ground 4f ⁿ levels of tri- and divalent rare-earth ions with respect to the conduction and valence bands of Gd₂O₂S crystal has been determined. It is shown that the Pr³⁺, Tb³⁺, and Eu³⁺ ions can be luminescence centers in Gd₂O₂S. The levels of the Nd³⁺, Dy³⁺, Er³⁺, Tm³⁺, Sm³⁺, and Ho³⁺ ions lie in the valence band; therefore, these ions cannot play the role of activators. The ground 4f level of the Ce³⁺ ion is near the midgap, due to which Ce³⁺ effectively captures holes from the valence band and electrons from the conduction band and significantly decreases the afterglow level of the Gd₂O₂S:Pr and Gd₂O₂S:Tb phosphors.     

Effects of BaTiO<Subscript>3</Subscript> and SrTiO<Subscript>3</Subscript> as the buffer layers of epitaxial BiFeO<Subscript>3</Subscript> thin films

BiFeO₃ (BFO) thin films with BaTiO₃ (BTO) or SrTiO₃ (STO) as buffer layer were epitaxially grown on SrRuO₃-covered SrTiO₃ substrates. X-ray diffraction measurements show that the BTO buffer causes tensile strain in the BFO films, whereas the STO buffer causes compressive strain. Different ferroelectric domain structures caused by these two strain statuses are revealed by piezoelectric force microscopy. Electrical and magnetical measurements show that the tensile-strained BFO/BTO samples have reduced leakage current and large ferroelectric polarization and magnetization, compared with compressively strained BFO/STO. These results demonstrate that the electrical and magnetical properties of BFO thin films can be artificially modified by using a buffer layer.     

Exchange coupling between Co<Subscript>0.9</Subscript>Fe<Subscript>0.1</Subscript> and bismuth ferrite layers: Cut (110)

The value of the exchange coupling between a Co_0.9Fe_0.1 nanolayer and a bismuth ferrite multiferroic (BiFeO₃) nanolayer has been calculated. Two possible variants of matching of the layer crystal structures are proposed. The interaction energy of the layers is shown to be sufficient to record information in the Co_0.9Fe_0.1 layer that enters in the composition of the magnetic tunnel junction by applying an electric field to the bismuth ferrite layer.     

Contactless density measurement of high-temperature BiFeO<Subscript>3</Subscript> and BaTiO<Subscript>3</Subscript>

The density of liquid and undercooled BiFeO₃ and high-temperature solid, liquid, and undercooled BaTiO₃ was measured with an electrostatic levitation furnace. The density was obtained with an ultraviolet-based imaging technique that allowed excellent sample contrast throughout all phases of processing, including at elevated temperatures. Over the 1250- to 1490-K temperature range, the density of liquid BiFeO₃ can be expressed as _L(T)=6.70×10³–1.31(T-T_m)(kgm^-3) (±2 per cent) with T_m=1423 K, yielding a volume coefficient of thermal expansion _L(T)=1.9×10^-4 K^-1. For BaTiO₃, the density of the solid can be expressed as _S(T)=5.04×10³–0.21(T-T_m) (T_m=1893 K) over the 1220- to 1893-K range, yielding a volume coefficient of thermal expansion _S(T)=4.2×10^-5 K^-1, whereas that of the liquid can be expressed as _L(T)=4.04×10³-0.34(T-T_m) over the 1300- to 2025-K range with _L(T)=8.4×10^-5 K^-1. PACS 77.84.-s; 81.05.Je; 81.20.n     

Specific features of the thermal,magnetic, and dielectric properties of multiferroics BiFeO<Subscript>3</Subscript> and Bi<Subscript>0.95</Subscript>La<Subscript>0.05</Subscript>FeO<Subscript>3</Subscript>

Thermophysical, magnetic, and dielectric properties of multiferroic BiFeO₃ and Bi_0.95La_0.05FeO₃ ceramic compounds were comprehensively studied. Anomalies of the permittivity near an antiferromagnetic phase transition related to the structural variations were detected. The temperature T _N was determined from the temperature dependences of the thermal expansion coefficient, heat capacity, and differential susceptibility. It is shown that the transition point is shifted to higher temperatures as the rare-earth La ion substitutes for Bi. It is established that an insignificant substitution of lanthanum for bismuth enhances the magnetic properties of bismuth ferrite and the magnetodielectric effect.     

Formation of ceramic solid solutions in a SrTiO<Subscript>3</Subscript>-BiScO<Subscript>3</Subscript> system

X-ray structural, X-ray phase, and dilatometric analyses were used to explore specific features of the formation of solid solutions in the (1 − x)SrTiO₃−xBiScO₃ system with x = 0.0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, and 0.5. It was found that the synthesis of solid solutions from the initial Bi₂O₃, Sc₂O₃, TiO₂, and SrCO₃ components is accompanied by a considerable increase in the linear dimensions of the samples, depending on their composition. Solid solutions with x > 0.1 are formed through intermediate phases (Sr₅Bi₆O₁₄ at x = 0.2; Sr_0.78Bi_2.22O₄ at x = 0.3; and Sr_2.25Bi_6.75O_12.38 at x = 0.4 and 0.5). It was shown that the samples with x = 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, and 0.5 have two phases: one with a cubic Pm3m structure and one with a tetragonal I4/mcm structure.     

Geometries and electronic structures of Ga<Subscript>2</Subscript>Se<Subscript>3</Subscript>, Ga<Subscript>3</Subscript>Se<Subscript>2</Subscript> and their anions. Theoretical insights

We hereby report a theoretical study on the equilibrium geometries, electronic structures and harmonic vibrational frequencies of Ga₂Se₃, Ga₃Se₂ and their anions. The ground and low-lying excited states of Ga₂Se₃⁻, Ga₂Se₃, Ga₃Se₂⁻ and Ga₃Se₂ are studied at the B3LYP and/or MP2 and CCSD(T) levels in conjunction with 6-311+G(d) and 6-311+G(2df) one particle basis sets. Ga₂Se₂⁻ adopts the C_2v kite geometry while Ga₂Se₃ has a ‘V’ geometry. Ga₃Se₂⁻ has a three-dimensional ‘D_3h ’ geometry and Ga₃Se₂ prefers the three-dimensional ‘C_2v ’ structure. Electron detachment energies from the ground electronic states of the anions to several neutral states are reported and discussed. At CCSD(T)//MP2 level, the adiabatic electron affinity (AEA) of Ga₂Se₃ is calculated to be 3.23 eV when using the 6-311+G(2df) basis set and that of Ga₃Se₂ is 2.77 eV with the 6-311+G(d) basis set. The findings of this research are analyzed and compared with gallium oxide and sulfide analogues.     

On the determination of the potential functions of H<Subscript>2</Subscript>Co,PH<Subscript>3</Subscript>, and CH<Subscript>4</Subscript> molecules based on experimental data

In the present work, a method of determining multidimensional potential surfaces of polyatomic molecules is suggested. The method is based on the use of high-accuracy data on the vibrational-rotational band centers and results of vibrational-rotational theory. Results of application of the method to the CH ₄, PH₃, AsH₃, and H ₂CO molecules are presented. __________ Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 2, pp. 58–63, February, 2008.     

Crystal and magnetic structure of CeVO<Subscript>3</Subscript>

The crystal structure and the magnetic ordering pattern of the electrically insulating perovskite CeVO₃ was investigated by high-resolution powder X-ray diffraction and single-crystal neutron diffraction. A structural phase transition from an orthorhombic to a monoclinic structure (with space groups Pbnm and P2₁/b, respectively) was observed upon cooling below T _s = 136 K. This transition is associated with a strong distortion of the VO₆-octahedra and can be attributed to orbital ordering. A magnetic ordering transition driven by exchange interactions between vanadium moments is observed at T _N = 124 K, and antiferromagnetic interactions between magnetic moments on vanadium and cerium ions induce a progressive magnetic polarization of the cerium sublattice at lower temperatures. The full magnetic structure is described by a superposition of the modes (C _x , F _y , −) and (F _x , C _y , −). The unit cell volume and the tilt angles of the VO₆-octahedra in the CeVO₃-crystal structure are anomalous compared to those of other members of the series RVO₃ (R = lanthanide atom), and the ordered magnetic moments on both vanadium and cerium sublattices at low temperatures are considerably smaller than the free-ion values of V³⁺ and Ce³⁺. Possible origins of this behavior are discussed.