Electromagnons in multiferroic YMn2O5 and TbMn2O5

Based on temperature dependent far infrared transmission spectra of YMn2O5 and TbMn2O5 single crystals, we report the observation of electric dipole-active magnetic excitations, or electromagnons, in these multiferroics. Electromagnons are found to be directly responsible for the steplike anomaly of the static dielectric constant at the commensurate--incommensurate magnetic transition and are the origin of the colossal magneto-dielectric effect reported in these multiferroics.     

Three-dimensional magnetic correlations in multiferroic LuFe2O4

We present single crystal neutron diffraction measurements on multiferroic LuFe(2)O(4). Magnetic reflections are observed below transitions at 240 and 175 K indicating that the magnetic interactions in LuFe(2)O(4) are three-dimensional in character. The magnetic structure is refined as a ferrimagnetic spin configuration below the 240 K transition. Below 175 K a significant broadening of the magnetic peaks is observed along with the buildup of a diffuse component to the magnetic scattering.     

Manipulating the self assembly of colloids in electric fields

During the last decade the focus in colloid science on self-assembly has moved from mostly spherical particles and interaction potentials to more and more complex particle shapes, interactions and conditions. In this minireview we focus on how external electric fields, which in almost all cases can be replaced by magnetic particles and fields for similar effects, are used to manipulate the self-assembly process of ever more complex colloids. We will illustrate typical results from literature next to examples of our own work on how electric fields are used to achieve a broad range of different effects guiding the self-assembly of colloidal dispersions. In addition, preliminary measurements and calculations on how electric fields can be used to induce lock-and-key interactions will be presented as well.     

Studies on multiferroic materials in high magnetic fields

In this article, studies on the magnetoelectric effects of multiferroic materials in high magnetic fields, particularly pulsed magnetic fields, are discussed and results for some representative materials are presented. In the discussions on representative materials, the relationship between the crystallographic symmetry and the linear magnetoelectric effect in Cr₂O₃ is introduced. Then drastic changes in polarization caused by magnetic transitions are discussed through a case study of manganites with a perovskite-type structure. In addition, high field studies on the magnetoelectric effects in BiFeO₃, which is an exceptional multiferroic material, are presented and discussed in the framework of the Landau-Ginzburg theory.     

Molecular-spin dynamics study of electromagnons in multiferroic RMn2O5

We investigate the electromagnon in magnetoferroelectrics RMn(2)O(5) using combined molecular-spin dynamics simulations. We confirm that the origin of the electromagnon modes observed in the optical spectra is due to the exchange-striction interaction between the magnons and the phonons, and the dielectric step at the magnetic phase transition is due to the appearance of the electromagnon in the low-temperature phase in these materials. The magnetic anisotropy breaks the rotational symmetry of the magnetic structures and, as a result, the electromagnon splits into three modes in RMn(2)O(5). We find that the electromagnon frequencies are very sensitive to the magnetic wavevector along the a direction q(x). Therefore, the electromagnon frequencies of TmMn(2)O(5) (q(x) ~ 0.467) are expected to be much higher than those of other materials of the family, such as R= Tb, Y, Ho, etc (q(x) ~ 0.48). We further calculate the electromagnons in the magnetic field, and find a new mode appearing in the magnetic field. Although the modes' frequencies change significantly under magnetic field, the total static dielectric constant contributed from the electromagnons does not change much in the magnetic field, suggesting that the colossal magnetodielectric effects in these materials may not be caused by the electromagnons.     

Observation of electronic ferroelectric polarization in multiferroic YMn2O5

We report the observation of a magnetic polarization of the O 2p states in YMn(2)O(5) through the use of soft x-ray resonant scattering at the oxygen K edge. Remarkably, we find that the temperature dependence of the integrated intensity of this signal closely follows the macroscopic electric polarization, and hence is proportional to the ferroelectric order parameter. This is in contrast with the temperature dependence observed at the Mn L(3) edge, which reflects the Mn magnetic order parameter. First-principles calculations provide a microscopic understanding of these results and show that a spin-dependent hybridization of O 2p and Mn 3d states results in a purely electronic contribution to the ferroelectric polarization, which can exist in the absence of lattice distortions.     

Structural anomalies and multiferroic behavior in magnetically frustrated TbMn2O5

We have studied the magnetostructural phase diagram of multiferroic TbMn2O5 as a function of temperature and magnetic field by neutron diffraction. Dielectric and magnetic anomalies are found to be associated with steps in the magnetic propagation vector, including a rare example of a commensurate-incommensurate transition on cooling below 24 K, and in the structural parameters. The geometrically frustrated magnetic structure is stabilized by "canted antiferroelectric" displacements of the Mn3+ ions, an example of the magnetic Jahn-Teller effect. The Tb moments order ferromagnetically at low temperatures in an applied field, while the Mn magnetic structure is largely unchanged.     

Resonant soft X-ray scattering studies of multiferroic YMn2O5

We performed soft X-ray resonant scattering at the MnL _2,3- and OK edges of YMn₂O₅. While the resonant intensity at the Mn L _2,3 edges reflects the magnetic order parameter, the resonant scattering at the O K edge is found to be directly related to the macroscopic ferroelectric polarization. The latter observation reveals the important role of the spin-dependent Mn-O hybridization for the multiferroicity of YMn₂O₅. We present details about how to obtain correct energy dependent lineshapes and discuss the origin of the resonant intensity at the O K edge.     

Order parameters and phase diagram of multiferroic RMn2O5

The generic magnetic phase diagram of multiferroic RMn2O5 (with R=Y, Ho, Tb, Er, Tm), which allows different sequences of ordered magnetic structures for different R's and different control parameters, is described using order parameters which explicitly incorporate the magnetic symmetry. A phenomenological magnetoelectric coupling is used to explain why some of these magnetic phases are also ferroelectric. Several new experiments, which can test this theory, are proposed.     

Ferroelectricity driven by the noncentrosymmetric magnetic ordering in multiferroic TbMn(2)O(5): a first-principles study

The ground state structural, electronic, and magnetic properties of multiferroic TbMn(2)O(5) are investigated via first-principles calculations. We show that the ferroelectricity in TbMn(2)O(5) is driven by the noncentrosymmetric magnetic ordering, without invoking the spin-orbit coupling and noncollinear spins. The intrinsic electric polarization in this compound is calculated to be 1187 nC cm(-2), an order of magnitude larger than previously thought.     

Artificial multiferroic heterostructures for an electric control of magnetic properties

The control of magnetism by electric fields is an important goal for future low-power spintronics devices. This partly explains the intensified recent interest for magnetoelectric multiferroic materials and heterostructures. The lack of ferro- or ferrimagnetic–ferroelectric materials with large magnetoelectric coupling between the two orders has spurred intensive research on artificial multiferroics combining ferroelectric or piezoelectric materials and ferromagnets. In this paper we review synthetically the potential of thin-film-based heterostructures in which a magnetic film is in contact with a ferroelectric or piezoelectric one to obtain an electric control of magnetic properties. This electric control either results from a strain-induced magnetoelectric coupling, a charge-driven one, or from the modulation of an interfacial exchange-bias interaction.     

Cu3Nb2O8: a multiferroic with chiral coupling to the crystal structure

By combining bulk properties, neutron diffraction, and nonresonant x-ray diffraction measurements, we demonstrate that the new multiferroic Cu(3)Nb(2)O(8) becomes polar simultaneously with the appearance of generalized helicoidal magnetic ordering. The electrical polarization is oriented perpendicularly to the common plane of rotation of the spins-an observation that cannot be reconciled with the conventional theory developed for cycloidal multiferroics. Our results are consistent with coupling between a macroscopic structural rotation, which is allowed in the paramagnetic group, and magnetically induced structural chirality.     

Phase transitions and critical phenomena in multiferroic films with orthorhombic magnetic structure

Phase transitions and critical phenomena in materials with strongly correlated magnetic, ferroelectric, and elastic subsystems are studied. A theoretical study of the influence external fields (dc and ac) have on the dynamics of phase transitions in perovskite-type crystals is performed.     

Magnetoelectric coupling in RMn2O5 multiferroic: a Monte Carlo simulation

Magnetoelectric coupling in RMn₂O₅ (with R?=?non magnetic) multiferroics have been studied using the Monte Carlo simulation. The variation of magnetization and the polarization of RMn₂O₅ multiferroic have been determined. The system undergoes a magnetic transition at T_N and a further reduction of the temperature leads to a ferroelectric transition at T_C?<_? T_N depending on the coupling strength. Magnetic and ferroelectric hysteresis loops are obtained for several temperatures values. Variation of polarization with the external magnetic field of RMn₂O₅ has been given. Variation of polarization and magnetization with the electric field of RMn₂O₅ has been obtained.     

Hofstadter spectrum in electric and magnetic fields

The problem of Bloch electrons in two dimensions subjected to magnetic and intense electric fields is investigated. Magnetic translations, electric evolution, and energy translation operators are used to specify the solutions of the Schrödinger equation. For rational values of the magnetic flux quanta per unit cell and commensurate orientations of the electric field relative to the original lattice, an extended superlattice can be defined and a complete set of mutually commuting space-time symmetry operators is obtained. Dynamics of the system is governed by a finite difference equation that exactly includes the effects of: an arbitrary periodic potential, an electric field orientated in a commensurable direction of the lattice, and coupling between Landau levels. A weak periodic potential broadens each Landau level in a series of minibands, separated by the corresponding minigaps. The addition of the electric field induces a series of avoided and exact crossing of the quasienergies, for sufficiently strong electric field the spectrum evolves into equally spaced discreet levels, in this “magnetic Stark ladder” the energy separation is an integer multiple of hE/aB, with a the lattice parameter.     

Non-resonant and resonant x-ray scattering studies on multiferroic TbMn2O5

Comprehensive x-ray scattering studies, including resonant scattering at Mn L, Tb L, and M edges, were performed on single crystals of TbMn2O5 for crystallographic data to elucidate the nature of its commensurate and incommensurate phases. The scattering results provide direct evidence of symmetry lowering to the ferroelectric phase driven by magnetically induced lattice modulations and show the presence of multiple magnetic orders. The competing orders under spin-frustrated geometry are believed to cause discommensuration and result in the commensurate-to-incommensurate phase transition around 24 K. It is proposed that the low temperature incommensurate phase consists of commensurate domains separated by antiphase domain walls which change both signs of spontaneous polarizations and x-ray scattering amplitudes for forbidden reflections.     

Semiconductor electrons in electric and magnetic fields

Optical properties of semiconductors in the simultaneous presence of electric and magnetic fields are reviewed, with particular emphasis on the possibilities of modulation techniques. First, the problem of an electron in crossed and parallel fields is solved in the one-level effective mass approximation (EMA), and the results are used to interpret the experimental interband transitions in Ge, with due account of the degenerate character of the valence band in this material. The limitations of the one-level EMA are discussed, and the two-level model is introduced, which correctly describes the experimentally observed transition from a magnetic type to an electric type of motion in increasing transverse electric field. Possibilities to observe electric field effects in cyclotron resonance transitions are discussed in this approximation. Finally, the three-level model is used to describe properly both orbital and spin properties of conduction electrons. It is demonstrated that in a small-gap semiconductor with large spin-orbit interaction a sufficiently strong transverse electric field destroys the Landau orbital quantization but not the Pauli spin quantization. Possible experimental consequences of this situation are discussed. Influence of finite dimensions of the sample on the character of the electron motion in crossed and parallel fields is examined. A possibility to achieve the semiconductor-semimetal transition in a symmetryinduced zero-gap semiconductor in crossed field configuration is predicted and described, taking into account the Luttinger effects in the magnetic level structure.     

First-order phase transition from an antiferromagnetic ferroelectric to a cycloidal multiferroic with weak ferromagnetism during the joint action of applied magnetic and electric fields

The thermodynamics of the phase transition in a perovskite-like multiferroic, in which an antiferromagnetic ferroelectric transforms into a new magnetic state where a spiral spin structure and weak ferromagnetism can coexist in applied magnetic field H, is described. This state forms as a result of a first-order phase transition at a certain temperature (below Néel temperature T _N ), where a helicoidal magnetic structure appears due to the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya effect. In this case, the axes of electric polarization and the helicoid of magnetic moments are mutually perpendicular and lie in the ab plane, which is normal to principal axis c. Additional electric polarization p, which decreases the total polarization of the ferroelectric P, appears in the ab plane. The effect of applied magnetic and electric fields on the properties of a multiferroic with a helicoidal magnetic structure is described. An alternating electric field is shown to cause a field-linear change in magnetic moment m, whose sign is opposite to the sign of the change of electric field E. The detected hysteretic phenomena that determine the temperature ranges of overheating and supercooling of each phase are explained. A comparison with the experimental data is performed.     

Quasi-stationary electron states in a multilayered structure in longitudinal electric and transverse magnetic fields

A theory of spectral parameters, dynamic conductivity, and relative integrated emission intensity has been proposed in the model of the open resonant-tunneling structure as a separate cascade of a quantum cascade laser in a transverse magnetic field. It has been shown that, according to the experiment by Blaser and colleagues, as the magnetic field strength increases to 8 T, the emission peak shifts to higher energies, while its relative integrated intensity in the strength range of 0–14 T decreases abruptly.     

On the magnetic structure of PrMn2O5: a neutron diffraction study

The long-range magnetic ordering of PrMn(2)O(5) has been studied on polycrystalline samples from neutron diffraction and specific heat measurements. The onset of antiferromagnetic ordering is observed at T(N) ≈ 25 K. In the temperature interval 18 K < T < 25 K the magnetic structure is defined by the propagation vector k(1) = (1/2,0,0). Below 18 K, some additional magnetic satellites appear in the NPD patterns, which are indexed with k(2) = (0,0,1/2). Therefore, below 18 K the magnetic structure consists of two independent magnetic domains, defined by the propagation vectors k(1) and k(2). The magnetic structure of the k(1)-domain is given by the basis vectors (C(x),0,0) and (C(x)',0,0) for Mn(4h) and Mn(4f), respectively. In the k(2)-domain, the magnetic structure is defined by the basis vectors (0,0,G(z)) and (F(x)',G(y)',0) for Mn(4h) and Mn(4f), respectively. At T = 1.5 K, for the magnetic phase associated with k(1), the magnetic moments of the Mn atoms at the 4h and 4f sites are 1.82(7) and 1.81(6) μ(B), respectively; for the magnetic phase associated with k(2), the magnetic moments for the Mn(4h) and Mn(4f) atoms are 0.59(5) and 2.62(5) μ(B), respectively.